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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - News 10 has learned a new Vigo County casino will be smoke-free.
Spectacle Jack, LLC made the announcement on Friday.
The new 'Rocksino' will have an outdoor patio, which will allow smoking. Spectacle Jack worked with Hard Rock on the decision.
The outdoor smoking patio will include the following:
- The HVAC system will be designed to have positive pressure that will expel air from the building when doors are opened. This will prevent outside air (including air from the smoking patio) from entering the casino.
- The HVAC units will be located on the west-side of the roof, which places them away from the smoking patio, minimizing the possibility that air from the smoking patio would be drawn into the building system.
- To welcome our guests that choose to smoke while gaming, the Smoking Patio is planned to accommodate 117 slots and 8 table games. This represents about 15% of the 1,060 planned gaming positions.
- The Smoking Patio will have large ceiling fans to circulate air and exhaust fans to discharge air from the space. Overhead radiant heaters will be installed to moderate temperatures in the winter. This design is consistent with what has been provided for smokers at casinos in Ohio including Northfield Park and Cincinnati.
In a release, the organization says Terre Haute and Vigo County has some of the strictest ordinances in the state, with some of the poorest health metrics. Spectacle Jack Chairman Greg Gibson said he sought a non-smoking casino from the start.
“Recognizing we had to make a good business decision for the company to maintain a solid financial ground for the future and provide a welcoming entertainment facility for all Hoosiers and guests, we had to look at data, become creative and benchmark other facilities which were successful with this model,” Gibson said in a written statement.
We spoke with Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett who said this is a win-win situation.
"Here's an opportunity to bring this new casino here and really open it up to maybe more people that might not normally go to a casino who don't want to be around smoke, and those who smoke will still have the opportunity to do what they want to do, and so I think it's the best of both worlds," said Mayor Bennett.
The casino will be built on Vigo County's east side, near Walmart. Crews are set to break ground this fall.
