Colorado casino offers personal improvement seminars

Monday, June 26, 2000 | 10:03 a.m.

The casino is hosting a series of seminars designed to provide important information or entertainment to gamblers on topics other than gambling.

The "How to Stop Smoking Now" seminar presented by American Lung Association speaker Virginia Carpenter last Tuesday was the first in the casino's "Discovery Series."

"Smoking is a health hazard to those who smoke as well as to those who are around them," Carpenter said. "Casinos are frequented a lot by smokers and folks who are on oxygen, which makes it harder for them to breathe.

"At this point in time it's probably not realistic to think that there will be no-smoking casinos," she said. "But I would hope there might at some point in time be no-smoking areas like we did with restaurants."

In fact, some of larger casinos in Las Vegas and even Colorado have no-smoking slot machine areas as well as blackjack tables for non-smokers.

Carpenter said that she has conducted smoking cessation clinics in a number of settings, but never in a casino. She said she wasn't overwhelmed by the crowd but she was pleased with the effort.

"We had five whole people," she said. "I feel that if I can actually touch just one person, it's worthwhile."

John Bohannon, director of marketing for the Isle of Capri Black Hawk, said the company is testing the Discovery Series at various Isle of Capri properties throughout the country.

"We wanted to take some topics that would be interesting to our customers. Some things that are relevant from a health standpoint," Bohannon said.

Other topics in the series include sessions on taking control of your health, achieving personal and professional success, enhancing personal appearances with make-up and financial planning.