Smoking in Indian casinos
No national smoking rule. Each line is one building’s page, the Agua Caliente compact, or the 1 Oct 2003 Connecticut Attorney General letter. Not legal advice.
Answer first
90s| Place | What that page states |
|---|---|
| WinStar World | Hotel, convention center, and Rome Gaming Plaza are non-smoking |
| Little River | Smoke and vape in the Smoking Gaming Room, one hotel room, or outside |
| Shoshone Rose | From 31 Oct 2025, smoking inside, plus a non-smoking area |
| Saganing Eagle’s Landing | Hotel page: the casino and hotel are a smoke-free property |
| Soaring Eagle | All indoor areas are smoke-free. Outdoor areas are designated |
| Thunder Valley | Smoking in gaming areas only. Named rooms on the FAQ are not |
| DD Sahuarita | No smoking, including vaping. Outside designated areas only |
| Chicken Ranch | The resort page calls the establishment smoke-free |
| Naskila Gaming | A self-contained smoking section with its own air filtration |
| Odawa Petoskey | Designated smoking areas and designated non-smoking areas |
Progress
Three kinds of sentence
- 1
Room page
The operator’s own page names that building’s air
- 2
Compact §12.2
Agua Caliente agrees to a non-smoking area
- 3
1 Oct 2003
Connecticut AG letter on Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun
A room page is not a compact. The 2003 letter is not a 2026 floor map. Checked 12 Oct 2026.
Floor rules
The sentence, not the state
Know before you sit
- WinStar rooms
- FAQ: the hotel and the convention center are non-smoking. Inside the casino, the Rome Gaming Plaza is non-smoking. The FAQ does not call the rest of the floor smoke-free.
- Little River edges
- Smoking and vaping are permitted in the Smoking Gaming Room, a hotel room marked for smoking, or outside — except the courtyard and the outdoor pool, which are smoke-free and vapor-free.
- Thunder Valley split
- Smoking is allowed in gaming areas only. Non-smoking on that FAQ: the hotel, Smoke-free Slot Room, poker room, The Venue, bingo room, spa, restaurants, and others.
- Shoshone Rose date
- The site says that beginning 31 Oct 2025, smoking will once again be permitted inside the casino, and a designated non-smoking area will be available.
- Agua Caliente §12.2
- Notwithstanding §12.1, the Tribe agrees to provide a non-smoking area in the Gaming Facility. §12.1 says that section is not to be read as applying state tobacco laws to the Tribe.
- Connecticut, 2003
- Public Act 03-45 expressly excludes casinos with casino liquor permits from that smoking ban. With a valid Conn. Gen. Stat. §30-37k permit, the letter says state law does not require Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun to prohibit patrons from smoking on the casino premises.
At the door
Four shapes on the pages
Gate pass
21+
Outside only
Desert Diamond Sahuarita: no smoking, including vaping. Smoking only in designated outside areas.
Indoors stated clear
Chicken Ranch: a smoke-free establishment. Saganing Eagle’s Landing: a smoke-free property. Soaring Eagle: all indoor areas smoke-free.
One named room
WinStar: Rome Gaming Plaza, the hotel, and the convention center. Naskila: a self-contained smoking section with its own filtration.
A date on the page
Shoshone Rose: from 31 Oct 2025, smoking inside the casino, and a designated non-smoking area.
OUT, NS, RM, and 31 mark the page’s shape. They are not a state code.
Compact clause and the 2003 letter
| Document | Names | Line |
|---|---|---|
| Agua Caliente 2016 | That tribe’s Gaming Facility | Provide a non-smoking area (§12.2) |
| CT AG, 1 Oct 2003 | Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun | Casino liquor permit excluded from PA 03-45 |
§12.1 of the same compact is not a reading that state tobacco laws apply to the Tribe. The letter is 1 Oct 2003.
Sequence
How to read one room
Step 01
Open that building’s page
Use the property URL, or the compact PDF, not a state roundup.
Step 02
Find the smoking sentence
Keep the words the page uses: a room name, “smoke-free property”, or a section number.
Step 03
Stop at the name
Rome Gaming Plaza is not every WinStar pit. Sahuarita is not every Desert Diamond.
Step 04
Date a letter
The Connecticut opinion is 1 Oct 2003. It answers Public Act 03-45 and a casino liquor permit. It is not tonight’s floor.
Watch outs
Reads that overshoot the page
01One room, every tribe
Ten buildings and two legal texts are on this page. They do not describe Indian casinos in a state, or in the country.
02The 2003 letter as tonight
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s 1 Oct 2003 letter is about Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun and Public Act 03-45. It is not a current floor diagram.
03§12.2 as a total ban
The Agua Caliente compact requires a non-smoking area in the Gaming Facility. It does not say every square foot is smoke-free.
04A note the page lacked
Coushatta’s FAQ was opened and did not contain a smoking sentence. That dossier lead stays off this page.
After the 90 seconds
Questions before and after you play
A 90-second guide cannot cover every table moment. Tap a group, then a question — answers are short paragraphs, not one-liners.
01What was re-read
Can you smoke in Indian casinos?
This page does not answer for every Indian casino. It records sentences from pages opened on 12 Oct 2026: named rooms at WinStar, Little River, Shoshone Rose, Saganing Eagle’s Landing, Soaring Eagle, Thunder Valley, Desert Diamond Sahuarita, Chicken Ranch, Naskila Gaming, and Odawa Petoskey, plus the Agua Caliente compact and a 1 Oct 2003 Connecticut Attorney General letter about Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.
What does the Agua Caliente compact say about tobacco smoke?
Section 12.2 of the 2016 compact on the California Gambling Control Commission site: notwithstanding section 12.1, the Tribe agrees to provide a non-smoking area in the Gaming Facility. Section 12.1 says nothing in that section shall be construed to make applicable to the Tribe any state laws or regulations governing the use of tobacco. That is this tribe’s compact, not a rule for every tribal casino.
What did Connecticut’s Attorney General write in 2003?
On 1 Oct 2003, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal answered whether Public Act No. 03-45 applies to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. The letter concludes that the act expressly excludes casinos with casino liquor permits from the smoking ban, and that section 14 of those gaming compacts does not require a different result. While they operate under a valid casino liquor permit under Conn. Gen. Stat. §30-37k, the letter says state law does not require them to prohibit patrons from smoking on the casino premises. That is the 2003 letter.
Which of these rooms are called smoke-free?
Chicken Ranch’s page calls the establishment smoke-free. Saganing Eagle’s Landing’s hotel page calls the casino and hotel a smoke-free property. Soaring Eagle’s FAQ says all indoor areas are smoke-free, with designated outdoor smoking areas. Desert Diamond Sahuarita’s page says no smoking, including vaping, and smoking only in designated outside areas. The others on this page name a section, a date, or both smoking and non-smoking areas.
Sources
- Agua Caliente compact 2016 — §12.2 tobacco smoke (CGCC) · accessed Oct 12, 2026§12.2: the Tribe agrees to provide a non-smoking area in the Gaming Facility. §12.1 is not a reading that state tobacco laws apply to the Tribe.
- Connecticut AG formal opinion 2003-017 (1 Oct 2003) · accessed Oct 12, 2026Public Act 03-45 expressly excludes casinos with casino liquor permits from that smoking ban. Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, under Conn. Gen. Stat. §30-37k.
- WinStar World — frequently asked questions · accessed Oct 12, 2026Hotel and convention center are non-smoking. Inside the casino, the Rome Gaming Plaza is non-smoking.
- Little River Casino Resort — FAQ · accessed Oct 12, 2026Smoking and vaping: Smoking Gaming Room, a designated smoking hotel room, or outside except the courtyard and outdoor pool.
- Shoshone Rose Casino & Hotel · accessed Oct 12, 2026Beginning 31 Oct 2025, smoking permitted inside the casino, with a designated non-smoking area.
- Saganing Eagle’s Landing — hotel · accessed Oct 12, 2026The hotel page calls Saganing Eagle’s Landing Casino & Hotel a smoke-free property.
- Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort — FAQ · accessed Oct 12, 2026All indoor areas are smoke-free. Designated outdoor smoking areas are available.
- Thunder Valley Resort — FAQ · accessed Oct 12, 2026Smoking is allowed in gaming areas only. The FAQ names the hotel, smoke-free slot room, poker, bingo, spa, and restaurants as non-smoking.
- Desert Diamond — Sahuarita · accessed Oct 12, 2026No smoking allowed, including vaping. Smoking only in designated outside areas. This URL is Sahuarita.
- Chicken Ranch Casino Resort · accessed Oct 12, 2026The resort page says CRCR is a smoke-free establishment.
- Naskila Gaming — FAQ · accessed Oct 12, 2026Designated smoking section: a self-contained area with an independent air filtration system.
- Odawa Casino Petoskey — FAQ · accessed Oct 12, 2026Odawa Casino Petoskey offers designated smoking and non-smoking areas.