Quite a bit, probably. Revel CEO Kevin DeSanctis "has repeatedly said it is too early to know whether going smoke-free has helped or hurt business," reports The Press of Atlantic City. But the $2.4 billion property opened at eighth place in the market, has fallen lower since and has failed to seriously dent Borgata, as was expected. Borgata and all other Atlantic City casinos are allowed to have smoking on one-fourth of their casino floors. Revel has other things working against it – costliness, a too-high marketing position, plus a near-fatal de-emphasis of the casino floor (see QoD 1/3/13) – but keeping smokers away certainly isn’t helping. One casino industry analyst says that casinos which go from smoking to non-smoking usually lose at least 15% of their revenue (look what happened to Las Vegas' Silver City -- the world's first totally non-smoking casino).
If DeSanctis is in denial, his investors apparently are not. The Wall Street Journal reported that there is behind-the-scenes pressure on Revel – which continues to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to cover operating costs – to permit smoking. When The Press of Atlantic City pressed Revel spokeswoman Maureen Siman on the issue, she wouldn’t rule out on-property smoking but added, "I can’t confirm any information on whether or not we are considering smoking." Although racinos in Delaware ban smoking, as do those in New York State, policies in Pennsylvania are more liberal than New Jersey’s.
Responded PR consultant Wayne Schaffel, "Asking gamblers not to smoke is like asking expectant fathers not to pace. They go hand in hand." (Illinois riverboats took a severe financial beating after smoking was banned in the Land of Lincoln.) It’s also been speculated that the new slot lounge that is part of Revel’s next set of upgrades is intended as a smoking area.
"Every time I push a button on a slot machine, it goes hand-in-hand with the nicotine going to my brain," Jersey cabbie Paul Fischer told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Needless to say, he was not playing at Revel. "It's an adrenalin rush. Even when I stopped smoking . . . I'd go to a casino and buy cigarettes," added Caesars patron Christine LaCoste. Although, as the Inquirer’s Suzette Parmley notes, no empirical research has established a nicotine/slot machine connection, she consulted UNLV’s David G. Schwartz (Director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV), who mused that, "It's possible that it's part of a greater risk-taking personality type. Those who think they can buck the odds and win at casino games may be more likely to believe they can evade the statistical probabilities of contracting debilitating diseases as the result of smoking."
Hack driver Fischer would agree, since he says his pack-a-day habit escalates when he’s playing. Of course, smoke respects no invisible line on the casino floor, and embeds itself in carpeting, drapes and wallpaper so even making Revel a resort where some smoking is permitted will be to ring a bell than cannot be un-rung.
