The commenters on the post were a mix of smoking supporters and opponents.

However, it's also proven controversial among several other regulars, including some who have taken to social media to criticize the decision.Īmong them is Palm Springs resident Tim Sigle, who wrote a post on a popular local Facebook page encouraging people to complain to casino staff about the return of smoking. On recent visits to the Palm Springs casino, the new rule was being embraced by several customers who were smoking while seated at the slots. Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio and the Augustine Casino in Coachella also disallowed smoking when they reopened during the pandemic. But the rule change at the Palm Springs bucks a trend that has seen several casinos around the Coachella Valley go smoke-free in recent years, including the three Agua Caliente properties. While California state law has banned smoking in casinos and other indoor spaces since 1998, tribes can continue to allow it at their casinos because they are sovereign nations that are exempt from the smoking ban.įor years, the casinos were something of a last public refuge for smokers in the state. Signs posted at the entrance to the casino state that pipe and cigar smoking remains disallowed.

The spokesperson did not immediately respond to a follow-up question about the different rules.Īn employee at the casino further explained Monday that while cigarette smoking and vaping are allowed on the casino floor, it is not allowed at table games or in the dining spaces, sports bar or Cascade Lounge. After a three-plus year hiatus, smokers can again light up a cigarette while trying their luck on the slots at the Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs.Ī spokesperson for the casinos confirmed to The Desert Sun that the decision was recently made to open up one of the three Agua Caliente casinos to smoking in response to “a substantial number of requests.” Smoking is limited to the Palm Springs property, while the tribe’s Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage casinos remain non-smoking.

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