State regulators in Maryland are being asked by Hollywood Casino Perryville to allow the expansion of its gaming floor to include an area outside where smoking is permitted, according to The Baltimore Sun.
The Perryville casino is requesting that it be permitted to move 14 of its slot machines to an existing smoking patio. While smoking is prohibited inside the state’s five casinos, it is allowed in outdoor gambling areas.
Both, Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Cumberland and Horseshoe Casino Baltimore currently offer those who indulge an outside smoking area with slot machines. Last year, the former won approval to convert an existing smoking deck at the casino into a gambling space.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Agency received Hollywood Casino’s request via a letter earlier this month. If approved, a retaining wall and a roof would shield the smoking patio from the elements and provide an area where smokers can light up without having to interrupt their slot play.
The proposal has been endorsed by agency staff and state gaming commissioners are scheduled to consider it on Thursday during their regular meeting, according to the news agency.
In addition to over 850 slots, Hollywood Casino Perryville’s 75,000 square feet gaming floor houses electronic table games including Blackjack, 3-Card Poker and Roulette, 12 live tables that feature 3 Card Poker, 4 Card Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, and Ultimate Texas Hold’Em, and an 8-table poker room that offers Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and 7 Card Stud cash games and tournaments.