Irene Petrovich of Brookline said she finds it “enjoyable” to smoke at Rivers Casino. “Any change to the allowance of smoking in PA casinos would have to be accomplished through the Legislature in altering the Clean Indoor Air Act.”
“The PGCB cannot mandate a smoking ban unless there is a safety reason,” he said. The space that permits smoking can’t exceed 50% of the gaming floor, and there cannot be smoking indoors in any other part of the facility, said Doug Harbach, communications director for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Under Pennsylvania’s Clean Indoor Air Act, casinos are permitted to allow smoking - something most commercial businesses in the commonwealth can’t do - with certain regulations. “People want to smoke,” he said as he smoked a cigarette outside the casino’s main entrance Monday. James Gould of Ross, a frequent patron of Rivers Casino, said he was glad to be able to smoke inside the casino again. The temporary smoking ban was implemented June 9, 2020, as an effort to curb the spread of covid-19. When the state’s mask mandate lifted June 28, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which oversees casinos, allowed the gaming sites to once again permit its guests to smoke. They’re smoking again in Pennsylvania casinos after a temporary ban during the pandemic left them smoke-free for about a year.
