Ping Betsy B - Still some work to do...

N.J. Casinos Get Limited Smoking Ban

By WAYNE PARRY (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press

February 07, 2007 9:59 PM EST

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Smokers will still be able to light up in New
Jersey's 11 casinos, but they will have a lot less room to do it under a
city law passed on Wednesday.
The measure designates a quarter of each casino's gaming floor as a
smoking area. It goes into effect April 15.

The City Council had been poised to enact a law that would have made New
Jersey the largest gambling destination in the nation to ban smoking, but
backed down after furious opposition from the casino industry, which
feared the loss of 20 percent of its revenue and 3,400 jobs.

While the state Legislature passed a ban on smoking in restaurants and
bars last April, but casinos were exempted.
The casino industry said it could live with the compromise because it
imposes less of an economic hardship on them, but the decision left many
casino workers and anti-smoking groups feeling betrayed.

"Every other restaurant, every other business, every other public place
in New Jersey gets to breathe clean air except us," said Rona Bavuso, a
cocktail waitress at Harrah's Atlantic City who says she has suffered ill
health effects for years from breathing in secondhand smoke.

Companies with stakes in the Atlantic City casino smoking ban include
Columbia Entertainment, Harrah's Entertainment, Boyd Gaming Corp., MGM
Mirage and Trump Entertainment Resorts.

NOTE: A position based on "fear" of profit loss seems to be enough to
convince politicians to not support a comprehensive law. The airline
industry argued the same about going smoke free as they "feared" smokers
wouldn't fly anymore. The airlines have been smoke free for 16 years...
and yes, smokers still fly.

What isn't being considered is the tremendous costs casinos will incur
for remodeling the 25% gaming floor space to be enclosed smoking areas--
which is required in the law. This could be a waste of money as state
legislators are seeking support for a bill to require the casinos to be
100% smoke free.


"Breathing is not a choice."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
To search the co-talk archives, go to:
http://smokefree.net/co-talk/messages

--
Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate and Starbucks!!
BetsyB

"Figgertoes" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:Xns98D1244CEA74figgertoes@216.168.3.44...
> N.J. Casinos Get Limited Smoking Ban
>
> By WAYNE PARRY (Associated Press Writer)
> From Associated Press
>
> February 07, 2007 9:59 PM EST
>
> ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Smokers will still be able to light up in New
> Jersey's 11 casinos, but they will have a lot less room to do it under a
> city law passed on Wednesday.
> The measure designates a quarter of each casino's gaming floor as a
> smoking area. It goes into effect April 15.
>
> The City Council had been poised to enact a law that would have made New
> Jersey the largest gambling destination in the nation to ban smoking, but
> backed down after furious opposition from the casino industry, which
> feared the loss of 20 percent of its revenue and 3,400 jobs.
>
> While the state Legislature passed a ban on smoking in restaurants and
> bars last April, but casinos were exempted.
> The casino industry said it could live with the compromise because it
> imposes less of an economic hardship on them, but the decision left many
> casino workers and anti-smoking groups feeling betrayed.
>
> "Every other restaurant, every other business, every other public place
> in New Jersey gets to breathe clean air except us," said Rona Bavuso, a
> cocktail waitress at Harrah's Atlantic City who says she has suffered ill
> health effects for years from breathing in secondhand smoke.
>
> Companies with stakes in the Atlantic City casino smoking ban include
> Columbia Entertainment, Harrah's Entertainment, Boyd Gaming Corp., MGM
> Mirage and Trump Entertainment Resorts.
>
> NOTE: A position based on "fear" of profit loss seems to be enough to
> convince politicians to not support a comprehensive law. The airline
> industry argued the same about going smoke free as they "feared" smokers
> wouldn't fly anymore. The airlines have been smoke free for 16 years...
> and yes, smokers still fly.
>
> What isn't being considered is the tremendous costs casinos will incur
> for remodeling the 25% gaming floor space to be enclosed smoking areas--
> which is required in the law. This could be a waste of money as state
> legislators are seeking support for a bill to require the casinos to be
> 100% smoke free.
>
>
> "Breathing is not a choice."
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> To search the co-talk archives, go to:
> http://smokefree.net/co-talk/messages

I saw this last night after going to bed. There will be hell to pay now.
>

"betsyb" <betsy958@TRASHoptonline.net> wrote in
news:eqferp0eij@news4.newsguy.com:

>
>

someone rolled over...

--
Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate and Starbucks!!
BetsyB

"Figgertoes" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:Xns98D171E4EC454figgertoes@216.168.3.44...
> "betsyb" <betsy958@TRASHoptonline.net> wrote in
> news:eqferp0eij@news4.newsguy.com:
>
>>
>>
>
> someone rolled over...

Damn sissies who run the municipality rolled over in fear of a lawsuit? Bet
the suits will be more expensive in the longrun.

Figgertoes wrote:

> N.J. Casinos Get Limited Smoking Ban
>
> By WAYNE PARRY (Associated Press Writer)
> From Associated Press
>
> February 07, 2007 9:59 PM EST
>
> ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Smokers will still be able to light up in New
> Jersey's 11 casinos, but they will have a lot less room to do it under a
> city law passed on Wednesday.
> The measure designates a quarter of each casino's gaming floor as a
> smoking area. It goes into effect April 15.
>
That is like having a no peeing section in the swimming pool


***************************************
* This is the Spammish Inquisition *
* Not Lumber Cartel Unit 75 [TINLC] *
* I am not SPEWS.ORG *
***************************************

Figgertoes wrote:
> ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Smokers will still be able to light up in New
> Jersey's 11 casinos, but they will have a lot less room to do it under a
> city law passed on Wednesday.
> The measure designates a quarter of each casino's gaming floor as a
> smoking area. It goes into effect April 15.

I'm not arguing for it or against it, but...

Prediction: they will have to ban smoking entirely when they find that
75% or more of the patrons frequent that 25% of each casino. The casinos
will then suffer because the high rollers who can afford to travel out
of country to smoke while gambling will do so. Don't know if people can
still smoke in Vegas casinos, but if so they'll empty Atlantic City of
all but the locals and some non-smokers.

Even rich people can't afford to leave the country every time they want
a meal, so the powers that be can force smokers to stifle themselves if
they want to eat out. But high rollers don't gamble as frequently as they
eat, and when they plan to drop $100,000 or more, $1000 for plane tickets
isn't a lot.

--
"Nowadays, security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day,
they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally.
I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine."
-- Bill Gates, in an interview with Newsweek's Steven Levy

clifto <clifto@gmail.com> wrote in
news:l0j2a4-cih.ln1@remote.clifto.com:

> Figgertoes wrote:
>> ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Smokers will still be able to light up in New
>> Jersey's 11 casinos, but they will have a lot less room to do it
>> under a city law passed on Wednesday.
>> The measure designates a quarter of each casino's gaming floor as a
>> smoking area. It goes into effect April 15.
>
> I'm not arguing for it or against it, but...
>
> Prediction: they will have to ban smoking entirely when they find that
> 75% or more of the patrons frequent that 25% of each casino. The
> casinos will then suffer because the high rollers who can afford to
> travel out of country to smoke while gambling will do so. Don't know
> if people can still smoke in Vegas casinos, but if so they'll empty
> Atlantic City of all but the locals and some non-smokers.
>
> Even rich people can't afford to leave the country every time they
> want a meal, so the powers that be can force smokers to stifle
> themselves if they want to eat out. But high rollers don't gamble as
> frequently as they eat, and when they plan to drop $100,000 or more,
> $1000 for plane tickets isn't a lot.
>
I have no personal stake as I don't gamble at casinos & don't like the
atmosphere at all, even if no smoke. But I do care about the workers &
their health. Here, many of the patrons say they don't smoke. If someone
wants to board a smoke-free plane to lose their money in a place thay can
smoke, I'd say let them! Their choices are continually shrinking.

Fig