Trump Entertainment has spent about $800,000 for smoking lounges at Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino and Trump Marina Hotel Casino. Each casino will have one lounge, Juliano said.

Harrah's Entertainment has shelled out $7 million for "comfortably appointed, climate-controlled" smoking lounges at its Harrah's Resort, Bally's, Caesars and Showboat casinos, the company said. Each lounge is equipped with high-velocity ventilation systems to push the smoke outside the buildings. Harrah's Resort and Showboat also will have outdoor smoking lounges featuring an enclosed top, side louvers, park-style benches, fans and heaters.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa plans to have outdoor smoking areas that will be climate-controlled and protected from the elements, the casino said.

Tropicana Casino and Resort will have four indoor lounges and is "ready to go" if the smoking ban begins Wednesday, spokeswoman Diane Spiers said.

However, the Hilton and sister property Resorts will not have any lounges. Customers at those two casinos will have to go outside to smoke, spokesman Brian Cahill said.

City officials scrambled Thursday to coordinate an emergency meeting before the smoking ban is supposed to start. But the law requires the hearing to be advertised seven days in advance, making a vote before the smokeout begins impossible.

"All I know is that there's been a lot of running around because the casinos are asking for relief," said Councilman Bruce Ward, the driving political force behind the full smoking restrictions.

City Business Administrator Carol Fredericks said plans for a meeting Oct. 18 hit a snag when she learned several council members would be out of the state or country.

"We are still trying to schedule it, but it doesn't look like we would have a quorum," Fredericks said.

Accounts from several councilmen indicated only two members - both of whom voted for the delay - would be unable to attend a Saturday meeting. The council could have as many as four members absent and still hold a meeting.

The author of the bill, Councilman John Schultz, said he will be in New York on Saturday and cannot change his plans. Schultz and Marsh both claimed Tim Mancuso was the other councilman likely to miss the proposed weekend vote. Mancuso could not be reached for comment Thursday.

"I don't see there being a problem getting a quorum," said Marsh, who voted against the bill Wednesday.

Schultz said he would not object to the special meeting Saturday, despite his absence, claiming he believes there is another vote that could swing.

Regardless of whether a special vote is scheduled, it appears the deadline will not be avoided.

If the casinos are required to enact the smoking ban, Fredericks suggested casino representatives might consider filing a court injunction to delay the deadline. She continued to stress the importance of the bill to delay the ban - a position Mayor Scott Evans' administration has maintained since the new plan was made public.

"Everyone is concerned about the loss of jobs in the economy," Fredericks said. "Couple that with the smoking ban and it really makes it rough."

Karen Blumenfeld, executive director of the New Jersey Group Against Smoking Pollution, or GASP, sent out a mass e-mail Thursday afternoon for members and other anti-smoking advocates to make calls urging Marsh and the mayor not to schedule an emergency meeting.

"We need the current ordinance to take effect on October 15, so that workers have a smoke-free gaming floor, as planned," she wrote.

E-mail Donald Wittkowski:

DWittkowski@pressofac.com

E-mail Michael Clark:

Michael.Clark@pressofac.com