Gamblers divided on vote to delay smoking ban
By ELAINE ROSE
Staff Writer, 609-272-7215
Published: Thursday, October 09, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY - Gamblers' reaction to City Council's vote Wednesday to delay the smoking ban depended - perhaps not surprisingly - on whether they use tobacco.Smokers said smoking and playing the slots or tables go together naturally, while nonsmokers said it isn't fair for workers and other players to be exposed to the health hazards of secondhand smoke."It's too far to walk from one end of the casino to the other to go outside to smoke," said Robin Rooker, of Seneca Falls, N.Y.If smoking were totally banned on Atlantic City gaming floors, Rooker said, she would take her business to Indian casinos in New York and Connecticut that don't have such restrictions.Andrew Kress, of St. Cloud, Fla., also was happy to hear that the smoking ban might be delayed.
"I don't think they should take smoking out of the casinos," Kress said. "When I play a game, if I have to go searching for a smoking area, I lose time at the game."A lot of gamblers still smoke, and the casinos already are putting the newer machines in the nonsmoking sections, Kress said.The casinos could reduce workers' health risks by installing better ventilation systems and rotating employees between the smoking and nonsmoking sections, said his wife, Lisa, who doesn't smoke.But nonsmokers said they are fed up with breathing other people's poison."That's too bad, because they should ban it," Tom Buckley, of Atlantic City, said when informed of City Council's vote. "It's not healthy for anybody."Buckley said he has seen players blow smoke right into dealers' faces."It's horrible for the dealers. I wouldn't want that job," he said."I think they should stop it. It's bad for the health," said Richard Bryan, of Portland, Maine, a former smoker. "Do you like to see all of this on the Boardwalk, cigarettes in the cracks?" he added, pointing to butts near a casino entrance.His friend Barbara Cain, of Washington, D.C., said her son has asthma and is bothered if he comes near a smoker. As a result, he doesn't go to casinos.Workers coming off their shift at the Showboat Casino-Hotel on Wednesday night weren't happy to hear the news of the vote."I think they made the wrong decision. I think they're putting employees at risk," bartender Chris Ireland said. "They're putting profits above people's health."There will be a federal ban on indoor smoking sooner or later, so City Council is just delaying the inevitable, Ireland said.Harrah's Entertainment Inc., which owns Showboat, Harrah's Resort, Bally's Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City, already has laid off workers in anticipation of a complete ban on smoking in the casinos, Ireland said. He said he doubts they will be rehired if the ban does not go into effect."They put out the capital" to build smoking lounges, and now that money is wasted, Ireland said.E-mail Elaine Rose:ERose@pressofac.com
Print Story
Email Story
