A spokesman for Hollywood Casino Columbus in Ohio announced on Wednesday that another smoking patio will be launched sometime next month.
The facility will spread over 2,000 square feet and will be located along the casino’s southwest wall. It will feature as many as 71 slot machines. Bob Tenenbaum, a spokesman for the Columbus gambling venue, noted that 6 of those will come from another part of the casino and 65 others will be purchased for the new patio.
Gambling operator Penn National Gaming Inc., which runs Hollywood Casino Columbus, is to spend about $700,000 to add roof to the patio as well as other renovations. Lehman Daman Construction Services Inc. will be in charge of the construction. The amount that will be spent on the new slot machines was not disclosed.
It could be said that Hollywood Casino Columbus was the first of the state’s four casinos that opened gaming facilities intended for smokers and managed to comply with the Ohio regulations that ban smoking indoors at the same time.
Mr. Tenenbaum told local media that they are well-aware of the fact that there are smokers among their gambling customers and they would like to be able to smoke while placing their bets.
Last October, the casino launched its first smoking patio. However, it is a bit smaller than the future one and features as many as 21 slot machines.
Following the success of this first patio, Penn National Gaming Inc. decided that it would be a good idea for the second one to be opened. Other gambling operators providing their services in the state also followed suit and launched facilities for the smoking portion of their customers.
Hollywood Casino Columbus has not revealed the revenue that every single slot machine generated in 2014. Yet, according to the figures released by the Ohio Casino Control Commission, proceeds from the 2,234 slots the casino currently features amounted to $13 million for the previous financial year.
Apart from slot machines, the gambling venue also features more than 70 table games, with blackjack, craps, and roulette being among those. There is also a 36-table poker room with Omaha, Texas Hold’em and poker variations being offered.
