MGM National Harbor will not have a cigar lounge after all.
The casino has withdrawn its petition for a 2,038-square-foot cigar store and lounge that was under review by the Prince George’s County Planning Board. A site plan provided for a 735-square-foot seating area, 340-square-foot bar, 344-square-foot retail area and a 249-square-foot humidor.
In a Jan. 24 letter to the county’s Office of the Zoning Hearing Examiner, the casino’s legal counsel stated “the applicant has made a business decision not to pursue the special exception application at this time.”
Maryland became a smoke-free state in 2008, but MGM filed for a special exception and a hearing was slated to take place March 6. Prince George’s planning staff supported the proposal, finding the lounge was permitted within the $1.4 billion resort and the use would “not adversely affect the health, safety or welfare or residents or workers in the area.”
However, MGM started receiving pushback from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network as early as 2016, when the idea was first broached.