Compromise would allow smoking in 25 percent of each NJ casino

24.01.2007, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «Compromise would allow smoking in 25 percent of each NJ casino»

By Wayne Parry, Associated Press Writer | January 23, 2007 Smokers would still be able to light up in parts of New Jersey's 11 casinos under a compromise plan to be introduced Wednesday night.

The City Council in Atlantic City initially intended to vote on a measure that would have imposed a total ban on smoking in casinos, closing the last major loophole in New Jersey's sweeping public smoking law.

But that measure was fiercely opposed by the casino industry, which predicted 3,400 jobs and 20 percent of the gaming halls' revenue could be lost as their patrons took their cigarettes -- and their money -- elsewhere. Under the compromise proposal, crafted in conjunction with the casino industry, 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 suck smoke out of the air and carry it out of the building.

"I believe it's a win-win for everyone, including people who wanted smoking banned," said Councilman Dennis Mason. "They won. They got 75 percent of the place banned, and the casinos won a little, too, because their customers still get to smoke." A total smoking ban would have made New Jersey the biggest gambling spot in the country to prohibit lighting up. Though there are bans in gambling sites in Massachusetts, Delaware and elsewhere, the better-known destinations such as Las Vegas, Biloxi, Miss., and many American Indian-run casinos allow smoking. Newly opened slots parlors in nearby Pennsylvania also permit smoking.

New Jersey banned smoking last April in most indoor public places statewide, but exempted the casinos. However, the legislation gave towns and cities the authority to enact tougher local restrictions, and Atlantic City used that provision to try to ban casino smoking.

The casino industry has threatened legal action to block a total ban. Over weeks of negotiations, it signaled it would accept an arrangement in which smoking would be banned in 60 percent of gaming space before finally agreeing to the 75 percent ban, Mason said.

The industry has already agreed not to challenge the compromise, he added. Joseph Corbo, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, did not immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment. Areas where smoking would be permitted "would be fully enclosed, from floor to ceiling, behind closed doors," Mason said. "There's no way the smoke gets out. I'm told the air in there could be better than the air in the rest of the place."

Nonsense, said Regina Carlson, executive director of the New Jersey Group Against Smoking Pollution, an anti-smoking advocacy organization. "Ventilation does not work," she said. "In order to truly clear the air of smoke, you would need air exchanges that would be equivalent to a tornado. It can't solve the problem. It can be very simply solved with a no-smoking policy."

If the revised ordinance is passed after a second hearing on Feb. 7, each casino would have to submit its plans for partitioning its gaming floors to the state Department of Community Affairs, Mason said. The new configurations would take effect 90 days after the state agency approves each casino's plan, he said.

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