No More Smokin' Poker
By Wendeen Eolis
The MGM Mirage poker rooms, on the glitzy Strip of Las Vegas, have made a seamless conversion from smoke filled to smoke-free environments. Poker room management at Bellagio and the Mirage is instructing smokers to hit the road before lighting those butts, and Binion's Horseshoe, home of the internationally famous World Series of Poker (WSOP), is primed to send the same message at its next year's tournament, as well.
The trend setting Bellagio and its elegant elder sister, the Mirage, coddled their smokers for years, but in recent months the chant for smoke free poker grew increasingly loud. With thousands of poker players in town for the annual WSOP, Bellagio and then the Mirage disclosed that as of June 1st all smoking materials would be given the heave ho from their poker rooms.
Shortly before Bellagio's official broadcast, Johnny Chan, a former WSOP World Champion and the poker star featured in the movie, Rounders, predicted the imminent announcement. He explained that many of the high stakes players had joined the growing fray, actively lobbying Doug Dalton, Director of Poker Operations at Bellagio and Bobby Baldwin, President of MGM Mirage Resorts, Inc., to banish smoke from Bellagio's poker room.
Not one to let grass grow under my feet in support of smoke free poker, I hi-tailed myself over to Bellagio, hopeful that I could nail down the veracity of this delicious "news." (A month earlier, I had appealed to poker room management around the country, through an Internet poker newsgroup, to rid their rooms of smoke.) Upon my arrival at Dalton's door, I was ushered into his office. At just that moment, he finished a conversation with Boss Baldwin that sealed the deal. A smoky poker room was about to become history here.
In his signature low-key style, Dalton talked about how he was persuaded to bless this idea, while flipping through a fat Rolodex, preparing to spread the word. In between personal calls to poker industry leaders and media outlets, he chatted about the careful assessment that preceded this decision. As the phones began to ring off the hook with congratulatory wishes, Dalton was busy coordinating with his poker room colleagues to insure that Bellagio players, in residence, would hear the news at the tables rather than through other sources. (Pokerpages.com published the news on its website within seconds of getting the scoop.)
In explaining the momentous move, Dalton referred frequently to Bellagio's deep commitment to customer service. He explained that Bellagio poker room supervisors delicately tested the waters by introducing a selection of non-smoking games over a period of several months. The new option proved so popular that players were scrambling for seats at these limited tables. The poker room needed little else to bring on an avalanche of outspoken customer support for a smoke free atmosphere. By responding to the groundswell, Bellagio became the leader rather than the opposition in the inevitable transition of Las Vegas card rooms from smoky to smoke free facilities.
Meanwhile, down the street at the Mirage, Poker Room Manager Donna Harris took a "wait and see" position, but as soon as Bellagio's announcement reverberated throughout Las Vegas, so did customer cries for the Mirage to follow suit. Harris, a smoker herself, who champions the "rights" of smokers as well as those of non-smokers, acknowledged that initially she feared negative affects from making such a change. However, Bellagio's announcement was followed by a firestorm of support for smoke-free poker at the Mirage, forcing her to make a chancy judgment call that could seriously affect the general harmony in her room.
Like Dalton, Harris has a reputation among her customers as a "sensitive" listener. She put her uncertainty to the side in order to bite the bullet. (It was not that many years ago that Harris stayed behind at the Mirage to retain the shine of the beautiful poker room she helped to create, rather than jumping over to the glamorous new Bellagio.)
She took the plunge, having concluded, "a smoke- free poker room creates a more pleasant environment for players." She added, "Smokers won't have to go too far to get their fix." Before Bellagio had a chance to implement its new non-smoking policy, the Mirage had joined forces with its sister property and announced that its poker room would also go smoke free, the 1st of June.
The unified position of MGM Mirage resonated from the Las Vegas Strip to the downtown home of the WSOP, at Binion's Horseshoe, in record time. Advocates for smoke- free poker rooms were ecstatic. Some were happily stunned by the announcements. Local poker players, employees, and industry leaders expressed confidence that the one two punch of Bellagio and the Mirage would reflect a critical turning point in card room smoking policies in Nevada and beyond.
Bellagio and the Mirage were generously commended by the legion of anti-smoking advocates in town, but some saw the decision as "an easy call," pointing to the success of smoke free card rooms in California where they are prescribed by law and up and down the Northeast Coast of the United States where they are voluntary initiatives of individual casinos. In a telephone interview, Tommy Gitto, Director of Poker Operations and the visionary behind smoke-free poker at Trump's Taj Mahal, in Atlantic City spoke with pride about his pioneering leadership. He touted the unmitigated success of the smoking ban in his poker room saying, "Tell them to call me. I have the numbers to prove it."
Also noting the economic benefits for the casinos, as well as the health improvements for players and personnel was Richard Tatolovich, reigning United States Poker Champion. WSOP organizers could not miss the elation of anti-smoking activists like Casey Kastle, a professional poker player and the originator of a nationally distributed petition (but unsuccessful effort) to bar smoking at last year's WSOP who exclaimed, "Wow" and suggested a victory feast at Binion's Gee Joon restaurant.
The table soon filled with poker players who were anxious to turn up the heat on the WSOP, where unbearably smoky conditions have always prevailed. It turned out that no such effort was necessary. The House of Binion was already contemplating its own bold move and soon began to leak plans for a smoke free 2002 WSOP through emissaries and friends.
Without a formal press release, a day before the opening of the final World Championship, Becky Behnen sent word to Linda Johnson, one of the most popular poker industry leaders, that "next year's tournaments and cash games will be smoke free." Johnson explained that she was asked by Behnen's office to place the news on the Internet poker news group rec.gambling.poker.
There is a long list of possible factors that may have contributed to turning the tide toward a smoke free WSOP for both tournament competition and live game action. It has been a long struggle that began years ago with isolated efforts. It progressed into an ever-growing chorus of poker room anti-smoking advocates. The proclamations of Bellagio and the Mirage naturally ratcheted up the pressure on Binion's Horseshoe. So did the presence of a New York Times reporter who was covering my experience with a respiratory disability at the WSOP tournament.
There were plenty of other catalysts, too, that may have pushed the WSOP organizers to go forward with a smoking ban at next year's WSOP affair. Perhaps it was the WSOP founder, Benny Binion's congenial grandson, Benny, who effectively relayed player gripes to Mother Behnen, the Lady of the House. Perhaps it was Behnen's dashing husband, Nick Behnen, who waxed poetic about his plans to get rid of "this miserable habit." Perhaps it was Archie, the world's biggest bettor and an avid fan of the Binion Behnen clan who insisted, "I rather stay broke than play in smoke."
Maybe, the dense clouds of smoke that hovered over Ms. Behnen's spectator seat in the tournament room caught her attention. (A non-smoker, Behnen said that she was "concerned" about the effects of second hand smoke.) Assuming that Behnen follows up and confirms the promise that has been relayed on her behalf, "Ours is not to reason why", but just to express our gratitude.
In the meantime, according to Bellagio's Dalton, the changeover to a smokeless poker room was made at 11 AM, June 1st. He stated, with obvious relief, "We got a big Hooray, and not one person left the room" He went on to point out, " We have been pioneers in smoke- free environments for our customers starting in 1990. We were the first company in Las Vegas to offer a smoke- free theater for Siegfried & Roy."
Over at the Mirage, Harris put the Mirage's poker room ahead of Bellagio's in effectuating the actual change. At the stroke of midnight, June 1st, she strode out of her office to initiate its new policy. Harris says, "We have had a few complaints, but hopefully, the vast majority of our customers will be happier." Still, she cautions, "June is notoriously a slower month, so no one should automatically attribute any lower revenues that might occur during this period as being due to our decision".
Poker players, dealers and other poker personnel who endorse smoke free poker are well advised to keep shipping letters in support of the actions by Bellagio and Mirage, and the reported plans for the 2002 WSOP, and to keep the heat on those who have yet to see the light.
Wendeen Eolis' accomplishments in business, politics, and poker have been profiled this past year in The New York Times, on A&E's Biography, and on Court TV, as well as in GQ Magazine and Poker Digest. Her legal consulting company, Eolis International Group, Ltd. reviews law firms and selects counsel, worldwide -- for companies, governments, and individuals. Wendeen has also been among the most effective advocates for smoke-free poker rooms in the United States.
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