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Pala offers smoke-free casino experience

Nonsmokers who like to gamble can now try their luck in a smoke-free environment at Pala Casino Spa & Resort.

Pala officials celebrated the opening of the property's 15,000-square-foot smoke-free gaming area June 29 and also introduced the new Marquise Bar & Lounge and the expanded Luis Rey's Restaurant, Bar and Patio Lounge.

"We really focused on trying to concentrate an area of the casino where guests could actually enter the facility through the hotel lobby, gamble, have dinner, have a cocktail and see a concert, or hang out by the pool – all of that without entering a space that allows smoking," said Bill Bembenek, chief executive officer of Pala.

The non-smoking area is protected by a floor-to-ceiling glass wall, and the facility's HVAC system has been enhanced to ensure that air flows out from the smoke-free area into the casino area where smoking is allowed.

"People can come to our property and pretty much do anything that they would like to do at a full-scale resort property and depart the property without ever having to have navigated a smoking environment," said Bembenek.

The smoke-free area offers more than 300 slot and video pokers machines, live poker, and casino cashier services. Restaurant options in the smoke-free zone include the popular Bar Meets Grill and Coffee Amoré, which was recently expanded to include a new kitchen.

Located on the other side of the glass wall is the Marquise Bar and Lounge, which occupies a space that formerly was the Infinity Showroom.

"What's amazing is that in just 5 1/2 months we've converted it from a showroom to 10,000 additional square feet of gaming space with a beautiful new bar that we think is a nice centerpiece for that location," said Bembenek. "We introduced a window that allows the natural beauty that surrounds us into the casino."

The Marquise Bar and Lounge features more than 300 new slot and video poker machines along with new blackjack and roulette tables. The bar offers a large selection of craft and domestic beers as well as specialty cocktails.

"We're trying to get a little bit more into the craft side of beer offerings," said Roy Hillis, vice president of food and beverage for Pala. "In addition to draft, we have many craft beers in cans as well."

Craft beers on tap at The Marquise include selections such as Sculpin from Ballast Point, Windansea Wheat from Karl Strauss, Delicious IPA from Stone, and Blonde Ale from Mission Brewery.

Events that proved most popular in the Infinity Showroom are being moved to new locations, including the Monday Night Football viewing parties, which this season will be held at Luis Rey's Restaurant, Bar and Patio Lounge.

A ribbon-cutting to celebrate the opening of The Marquise was followed by a ribbon-cutting to open the new and expanded Luis Rey's.

"Luis Rey's started as a very small bar on the back patio of the resort that had tremendous demand, so we decided that we would take some additional interior space and really make a large venue out of it," said Bembenek. "So it is now a full-scale restaurant with a very large bar and an entertainment venue."

Half of the impressive bar at Luis Rey's is indoors and the other half is outdoors.

"What's unique about the venue is that it is truly an indoor-outdoor experience," continued Bembenek. "We have a patio with approximately 100 seats and an interior dining space that also has about 100 seats. So the venue will hold about 200 people seated and about 350 people when it becomes more of an entertainment venue."

Luis Rey's offers a happy hour daily from 4 to 7 p.m., and live entertainment and dancing on Friday and Saturday nights. Hillis noted that Luis Rey's has 16 beers on tap and 16 televisions, including an 85-inch television reserved for the day's biggest sporting events.

Luis Rey's is known for its street tacos as well as the Kobe burger and sandwiches that are piled high.

"We have people that come during our happy hour and gorge themselves with the street tacos," said Bembenek, noting the tacos cost only $1 during happy hour. "They're delicious."

The opening of the new smoke-free casino area and the Marquise Bar and the expansion of Luis Rey's followed Pala's recent unveiling of its new Tourmaline pools and renovated hotel parking garage. According to Bembenek, there is more work to be done.

"We're going to completely update all of the finishes in the casino," said Bembenek, adding that Pala plans to place new, more comfortable furniture throughout the casino. "We're also going to remodel every room and every corridor in the hotel tower."

Bembenek, who said the remodeling of the rooms will begin in early fall, acknowledged there is stiff competition in Southern California for casino guests.

"It's become a very competitive environment," said Bembenek. "The casino operations in Southern California, in my estimation, rival the best in the world. We have competitors that are very astute at managing resort properties and casinos, and I think the competition is healthy. I think that a lot of the properties have become better, and it's a better experience for the guests that either dine at the properties or stay at the properties or choose to spend some time in the casinos."

Bembenek was asked if the Southern California properties rival those in Las Vegas.

"Absolutely, there are several properties in Southern California that I think you could drop on the strip in Las Vegas and they would mix in very well and compete very well with them," said Bembenek, adding that he believed Pala was one of them.

Pala Casino Spa & Resort is located at 11154 Highway 76, approximately six miles east of Interstate 15. For more information, visit http://www.palacasino.com.

 

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