Casinos Ticketed For Smoking; Despite Loophole
Save Email Print
Bookmark and Share
Posted: 8:56 PM Jul 13, 2008
Casinos Ticketed For Smoking; Despite Loophole
Cripple Creek
Four Cripple Creek casinos are ticketed for letting customers smoke inside.
Reporter: Rosie Barresi
Email Address: rbarresi@kktv.com
width:200 and height: 150 and picwidth: 200 and pciheight: 150
Font Size:

Four Cripple Creek casinos are ticketed for letting customers smoke inside.

According to Colorado law only cigar bars can allow it, but some casino owners say they sell enough tobacco to be considered a cigar bar.

Last month Midnight Rose, Double Eagle and Bronco Billy's were given tickets by the city's police chief after a civil complaint was filed. Gold Rush got their ticket on Saturday. The only casino who quit allowing smokers is Double Eagle.

The casino owners who were ticketed may have felt they hit the jackpot.

"There's a way around everything," said Pattie Chavez, a smoker.

Owners found what some would call a loophole around Colorado's State-Wide Smoking Ban Law.

"That's obviously what the casinos think," said Cripple Creek Councilman Gary Ledford.

"It says if it's a casino it's non-smoking, period. That's how I read the law," said Ledford.

But it's not how everyone is interpreting it. Which is why tickets were issued to casinos, who some say, are breaking the law. The state law says establishments selling more than $50,000 in tobacco sales a year may legally call themselves a tobacco bar. That grants them permission to allow indoor smoking.

The owners of all four casinos want to see what fate those tickets bring them before commenting, but in the meantime three of those casino owners are allowing their patrons to continue lighting up.

Some smokers are angry about the tickets. "I don't think that's fair," said Chavez.

While some non-smokers don't know what to make of it. "If they fight it? I'm not sure," said Marion Bond, a non-smoker.

Soon a judge will have the final say.

The three casinos that were ticketed last month go to court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing. The fourth casino ticketed has a separate court date.


Latest Comments

Posted by: Frenchy Location: C/S on Jul 16, 2008 at 05:43 AM

Here's some cheese for your whine!
Posted by: Troy Location: Loveland, CO on Jul 15, 2008 at 09:29 PM

I'm a smoker. With that being said, I actually find it enjoyable that I can go inside a casino or restaurant and NOT smell smoke. I always smoke outside anyway, and not smelling it or being able to do it inside a restaurant, bar, or casino is actually a great way to cut back.
Posted by: TR Location: Cripple Creek on Jul 14, 2008 at 04:19 PM

They tried a non-smoking casino years ago, didn't make enough money to stay open. Changed hands, made smoking, did fine. That is the way it will be for the few small casinos left. I agree though, maybe they should try it again, if allowed, that would be the most money making place in town. By the way, smoker or not, NO ONE is forced to come to the casinos, gamble or drink, only now told by others that they are not allowed to smoke while doing it, or allow it in their places of business. Don't like the way an owner wants to do business, don't go there. Or open a non-smoking place of your own.
KKTV.com Features

KKTV and our Partners are proud to make Moms life easier…click here for more information

Click here for more information from our local health care specialists.

Do you have a story idea? Want to report breaking news? Call our newsroom at (719) 578-0000 or e-mail News@kktv.com.

Click Here to have KKTV come to your school!

Watch full episodes of your favorite CBS shows right here on KKTV.com.
Latest Blogs
  • EAT IT: Almonds - (Stacia Naquin)
    Keep your energy up when things get crazy. All you have to do is keep this super food handy at your desk.
  • Beware of Crooks Using Best Buy's Name (Betty Sexton)
    Crooks just sent a message to an 11News smartphone. It claims we've been selected for a $1,000 shopping spree. It's all a bunch of baloney!
  • Make a quick $250, hardly! (Betty Sexton)
    Thanks to Christine for telling me about this scam. She received a check in the mail from a group using the name American Consumer Opinion. It wasn't the legitimate Texas research company... just a crook looking to rip her off!
  • Treat It Like Thanksgiving - (Stacia Naquin)
    You don't have to sit on the sidelines at that Super Bowl party just because you vowed to make 2012 a healthier year. Here's some advice to keep yourself on track, after indulging during the season's biggest game!
  • "Be Prepared" is Good Motto for Storm Coverage
    Over in the KKTV 11 Weather Center, the radar's showing the snow moving in. Chief Meteorologist Brian Bledsoe says this storm has the potential to bring the most snow we've seen in 5 and 1/2 years, so it is "all hands on deck" and "batten down the hatches", as the newsroom makes its own preparations for this Groundhog Day Storm.