A swanky London hotel is preparing to launch an outdoor casino at which patrons would be allowed to smoke ‘em if they got ‘em.
The Hilton Hotel in Park Lane opened a ‘no riff raff’ private casino last year for which entry requires a £1k membership fee. The hotel, which is owned by Malaysian gaming and hospitality conglomerate Genting, now plans to open a roof garden extension next month to cater to its nicotine-addicted high-rollers.
The Daily Mail quoted the hotel’s operations director David Mills saying many of the venue’s clients come from countries that have never heard of smoking bans. The rooftop addition to the Park Lane Casino would feature roulette, baccarat, blackjack and three-card poker tables. However, Westminster Council has banned the property from providing live or recorded music lest it disturb the neighbors even more than the waft of some really nasty Middle Eastern cigarettes.
CAESARS PLEADS FOR EXEMPTION FROM NEW ORLEANS SMOKING BAN
Smoking bans are affecting casinos around the globe, be it in the UK, Macau or the United States. The city of New Orleans is preparing to implement a smoking ban within Orleans Parish that will affect Louisiana’s only land-based casino, Harrah’s New Orleans. Caesars Entertainment execs have predicted the ban – which takes effect April 22 – could cut the casino’s revenue by 20%, which would deprive the city of New Orleans of an equivalent slice of tax revenue.
Caesars is desperately trying to obtain an exemption from the ban by proposing to make half of the property’s gaming floor a physically separated non-smoking area. Caesars also pledged to offer programs to “make patrons and employees aware of the dangers of smoking and programs to quit smoking.”
On Friday, state lawmakers voted to delay approval of a $3.6m casino support services contract that supplies police, fire and sanitation services at Harrah’s over concerns about the potential economic hit of a smoking ban. The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget will revisit the issue at next month’s budget hearing.
