A showdown between supporters of the suggested smoking ban in Atlantic City casinos and the casino industry is scheduled for tonight's City Council vote on a proposed partial smoking ban.
The state of New Jersey banned smoking last April in most indoor public places, but exempted the casinos.
The City Council had initially planned to vote on a proposal that would have banned smoking in casinos completely. However, following a strong opposition by the gambling industry, which argued that such a ban would cause the loss of 3,400 jobs and a decrease of 20 percent in casinos' revenue, a new compromising proposal came up.
The proposal states that smoking would be banned on 75 percent of each casino's gaming floor. The remaining 25 percent would be walled off and equipped with powerful ventilation systems to draw smoke out of the air and carry it out of the building.
If the new ordinance is approved after a second hearing on February 7, each casino would have to submit its plans for partitioning its gaming floors to the state Department of Community Affairs. The casino industry has already agreed not to challenge the compromise.
Email this page
Print this page
Bookmark with del.icio.us
