Kanawha bars, gaming parlors now smoke-free

NITRO -- Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center is now the only racetrack casino in West Virginia that doesn't allow smoking.

The facility is under Kanawha County's expanded ban, which went into effect Tuesday. Seventeen West Virginia counties now extend smoke-free rules to bars and gambling parlors.

Tri-State's executive director of operations, Rich Tesler, says only "time will tell" if the ban will hurt business.

Some bar and video poker parlor owners are bracing for a major impact.

West Virginia Restaurant Management runs video slot parlors in Kanawha and Putnam counties. Steve Scott, vice president of operations, says sales dropped by at least 25 percent at a Putnam County operation after the county passed a smoking ban last year. That ban was later rescinded.