After coronavirus, some Fresno-area casinos made big changes. Will more casinos follow?

Tachi Palace Casino Resort will snuff out indoor smoking beginning Friday.

The new policy comes a month after Table Mountain Casino implemented the same smoking ban. Table Mountain’s policy coincided with the casino’s early-June reopening following a coronavirus shutdown in mid-March.

Tachi’s move also is related to the coronavirus.

“The new, temporary policy is for the safety of guests and employees in light of COVID-19. Masks are required, and by eliminating smoking, it increases the amount of time guests’ faces are covered and also assists in air quality,” said Tachi Palace Casino Resort General Manager Micahel Olujic.

Table Mountain Casino has not said whether the policy is permanent, and officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Customers who spoke with The Bee said the policy at Table Mountain was frustrating but understandable.

“I don’t like it, but it’s just a minor inconvenience,” said Joseph Parker, a 60-year-old smoker and Table Mountain regular.

Anti-smoking advocates say they hope the policy changes will ignite momentum to eliminate indoor smoking from all casinos in California.

Bronson Frick, director of advocacy for American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, said hundreds of casinos nationwide already were smoke-free before the pandemic, but many tribal casinos bucked the trend for years.

“But during coronavirus, many tribes, which are sovereign and therefore not subject to state emergency orders, have adopted a smoke-free indoor air policy, taking the lead on this important health and safety issue,” Frick said.

The change comes as businesses across the country scramble to balance the health and safety of employees and customers while keeping their businesses afloat. Returning Table Mountain customers also encountered socially distanced slot machines and temperature checks, in addition to leaving the building to smoke.

And while cigarette smoking has not been linked to the coronavirus’ spread, a non-smoking policy still protects customers and employees, according to Nancy Pierce, a public health nurse from Fresno American Indian Health Project.

Kenneth Hansen, a Fresno State political science professor who teaches tribal administration, said it’s likely casino officials were motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic but said the Table Mountain policy likely would remain intact.

“Oftentimes, once you make a change like that, you don’t go back. And I think that people who do smoke are used to smoking outside anyway,” he said.

Hansen also noted that many casino-goers tend to be older, a demographic believed to be more susceptible to a severe outcome from a COVID-19 infection.

“So anything the casino might do to minimize the risk for those clients would seem to be a prudent thing, if not in fact, then at least in terms of perception,” Hansen said.

Over the last three decades, anti-smoking advocates have racked up a long string of victories, eliminating tobacco smoke from various public spaces, including airplanes, movie theaters and other large entertainment venues.

Frick said he hopes California’s tribal casinos are next.

“The reality is that tribes are taking the lead on addressing this issue on their own,” Frick said. “So commercial operators and mini markets are now behind the curve on this basic issue of health and safety.”

This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 9:25 AM.