Missouri: smoking could be prohibited at St. Jo Frontier Casino

During a St. Joseph City Council meeting held last week, Councilmember PJ Kovac said he plans to try petitioning to keep pushing forward a proposal to ban smoking at the St. Jo Frontier Casino.

Kovac had sponsored a bill that did not pass with a 4-4 vote at the Nov. 2 meeting, News-Press Now reports. During the council meeting last week, he was descriptive about what he saw during a visit to the casino that ultimately led him to bring the matter up for discussion.

"It made me upset to see people at the card tables pulling their masks down and blowing smoke right into the dealer’s face," Kovac said.

Smoking already is banned indoors at other St. Joseph businesses.

Kovac’s proposal to ban smoking at the casino received backing from Smoke Free Missouri, an organization that works with partners across the state to support individuals and communities working on cessation and other tobacco-control policy efforts.

On Oct. 9, officials at the St. Jo Frontier Casino implemented a set of guidelines for smokers requiring them to go outside if they wanted to smoke. Mike Tamburelli, general manager of the casino, said at last week’s council meeting that management decided to do away with the regulation once they saw customers leaving to go to another area casino where they were allowed to smoke indoors.
Tamburelli went on to offer his testimony before the bill was voted on to explain why this ordinance should not be pushed through and how the casino staff has helped keep its customers safe.

"We have a certain area on our floor. It’s all blocked off. People cannot play slot machines and the customers are six feet apart," he said.

As of September 2020, there are at least 964 U.S. casinos and other gaming venues with 100% smoke-free indoor air policies, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.