When Cripple Creek casinos banned smoking, Peggy Mikkelson kicked the habit.

Gambling, that is. Not cigarettes.

The Jan. 1 state law cleared the air inside casinos and clouded the smoking benches by the doors.

In this former mining town, ashtrays on black posts now line the historic main street like horse hitching posts once did.

Heated smoking areas, free candy and fake indoor cigarettes aren't enough to keep the same stream of coins falling into the one-armed bandits.

The ban was extended to casinos about two years after bars and restaurants were forced to go smoke-free and complained to lawmakers that it wasn't fair to exempt gambling joints.

One smoker, Pat DiOrio of Cañon City, has cut back on her gambling junkets because it's just not as much fun.

"Smoking and gambling kind of go hand in hand," she said. "If you're playing a good machine, you think, ‘Gee, I really would like a cigarette.' But you don't want to leave the machine and let somebody else get it."

Mikkelson, 50, quit her frequent casino trips cold turkey in January, declaring that if she couldn't light up a Winston, then the casino couldn't have her $150-$300 weekly slot machine money.

"I've had so much withdrawal," the Colorado Springs woman said. "I saved a lot of money."

March revenues at the Cripple Creek casinos decreased 16.7 percent compared with a year ago, from $13.7 million to $11.4 million. Black Hawk and Central City casino profits also are down.

No doubt weather and the economy factored in, but gambling officials say the main culprit is the smoking ban.

"It is not as bad as I thought it would be, but it definitely is having an effect," Cripple Creek City Administrator Bill McPherson said.
"Whatever hurts the casinos, hurts the city."

Some smokers race out to huff and puff, while others fit it into their casinohopping.

"I smoke while going between casinos," said Chris Cobelli, 21, of Colorado Springs.

He doesn't mind the ban, saying he smokes less and doesn't reek of everyone else's cigarettes.

Many casinos have replaced ashtrays with candy dishes filled with free lollipops, hoping to appease one vice with another.

Anything to increase the odds players stay focused on the urge to gamble.

"We're trying to get people to keep playing," said Mike Hirsch, Gold Rush Hotel and Casino general manager. "Some like the smoke-free environment, but more people don't like it."

Casinos sell electronic cigarettes that can be "smoked" inside. The rechargeable penlike gizmo gives a nicotine burst and emits a water vapor that resembles a puff of smoke.

Hirsch said his casino sells about two a day of the $50 devices, which is more than he expected.

Some casinos added covered patios in back, so smokers don't have to sit on the main drag - and possibly decide the action is better at another casino.

Colorado Grande has signs at each slot machine boasting of the best outside smoking area, a screened enclosure with comfy padded seats around a fire pit and speakers playing relaxing music.

It was empty on a recent weekday afternoon.

Inside the casino, about a dozen gamblers tried their luck to get Triple 7s on the slots, easily moving down the vacant rows to the next machine.

A few smokers huddled by front entrances, where the muffled, perky sounds of spinning reels and coins cha-chinging could be heard, but not experienced.

The town's temporary fix might be another sign of the time: rising gas prices.

"People can't afford to go too far," City Administrator McPherson said. "This is the one-day, one-tank-ofgas tourist site."

No dice, says Mikkelson, who's plotting to go to Las Vegas, where she hasn't gone since casinos opened in Cripple Creek in 1990 - and where smoking is allowed.

She'd rather drop her money in her own state.

"I told the casinos, ‘I will be the first one back in your door if I can smoke a cigarette while I play.'"

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0253 or andrea.brown@gazette.com