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To: <vpFREE@yahoogroups.com>
From: "Elizabeth Badrov" <wagner@blight.com>
Date sent: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 09:42:21 -0500
Subject: RE: [vpFREE] Re: Best non-smoking
That and there is a smoking alternative in Detroit, yes?
There's a move afoot in my home State (Ohio) to allow
casino gambling. This is a non-smoking State. I'll be
interested to see who still rolls to Indiana to gamble
because they'll be able to smoke there once they have
an option to gamble in Ohio.
I would guess the Detriot casinos give a lot competition to Windsor. Here
in the Midwest, the Chicago metro casinos were not exempted from the state
wide non-smoking (though they lobbied hard) and saw a big loss of customers
to the NW Indiana casinos. There's at least 8 casinos all within 45 minutes
or less of each other. And there's been periodic local newspaper articles
about it because of the decline in revenues and what the state had budgeted.
Then again, the State of Illinois also changed how they taxed the gaming
industry and it also cut into the marketing offers and pay tables presented
for those casinos. It also didn't help that the new Horseshoe casino
opened up at the same time and is new, huge and beautiful and that Majestic
and Ameristar offer better pay tables and food.
After almost two years of the bans, the local Illinois casinos are starting
to pick up some of the lost business.
From my personal observations, the smoking ban was only an opportunity for
casinos to pick up more customers who were looking for a smoking
establishment or new customers who were looking for a non-smoking
establishment, but ultimately, it seems that the gambler is looking for
better odds and good entertainment value. How the casinos reacted and
marketed to those groups ultimately determined their fates when presented
with external limitations by their state governing bodies.
I'm sure most of us would put up with some smoke for an ~100% EV machine
with a good comp point to cash back ratio and a nice food set up even at an
additional 30 minutes driving across the border.
All that being said, if you make it out to the Chicago area, Harrah's Joliet
is all non-smoking and has a decent set up. But if you're willing to still
deal with the smoke, I'd opt for the Horseshoe Hammond, Majestic Star, or
Ameristar in NW Indiana. They are closer to the city and better pay tables
across the board in comparison. But Joliet is still playable and has a good
variety of games.