Posted on 09/22/2008 3:22:27 AM PDT by rellimpank
Casinos in Illinois have posted double-digit revenue declines since a smoking ban took effect there in January. And it's not primarily because high air fares stop tourists from visiting the Windy City in search of a game of chance.
"The smoking ban is having a major impact," Tom Swoik, head of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, told The Wall Street Journal last week. Share & Save Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites What is this?
A 2005 research paper by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis says Delaware's "racinos" -- racetracks with slot machines and video poker -- saw their revenue decline by $94 million a year after a smoking ban was implemented there in 2002.
And In Atlantic City -- where casinos are now under a partial smoking ban that keeps gamblers from lighting up on 75 percent of the casino floor -- a full ban is scheduled to go into effect Oct. 15, at which point smokers are widely expected to flee to gambling halls in Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
But the places gamblers can go to escape the smoking bans are narrowing. Efforts to extend existing smoking bans are now expected in Iowa, Missouri and Nevada. Pennsylvania casinos instituted a closely watched partial smoking ban last week. And it turns out misery loves company: To create a level playing field, the Casino Association of New Jersey -- which unsuccessfully fought the Atlantic City ban -- is now arguing in favor of smoking bans in other states. In an e-mail statement, the association's president, Joseph Corbo Jr., writes: "We are hopeful that other nearby gaming jurisdictions, notably Pennsylvania and Connecticut, soon enact smoking bans.
(Excerpt) Read more at lvrj.com ...
-ping-
Efforts to extend existing smoking bans are now expected in Iowa, Missouri and Nevada.
If even Nevada bans smoking then it’s all over
“Casinos in Illinois have posted double-digit revenue declines since a smoking ban took effect there in January.”
Couldn’t happen to a nicer state.
Oops... I guess people will have to go to Tunica, MS.
I would not be surprised that by 2010, all casinos in the USA—including Indian casinos—will have a strict no-smoking policy. And don’t think Europe is immune—the EU authorities are also starting to really crack down on public smoking too. Even China is starting to crack down.
Proof positive that smoking bans decrease casino revenue. Atlantic City has already been hurt by surrounding states enacting gaming. A complete ban set for next month will surely set them back even further.
Can anyone say “Black market tobacco” and “smokers.”
And we call ourselves a free people...
I have a mixed opinion on the issue...I don’t like smoking bans...but I think the reduction of gambling in any form is a good thing(though I wouldn’t ban gambling either)
Must...have...equal...distribution...of misery
They won’t lose any money on me because I don’t gamble.
I don’t gamble but we recently visited a casino in southern Indiana. I thought it was nasty inside due to smoke.
Since 99.9% of the places I go are smoke free now (including the high school and college stadiums I have tix for), the contrast really hits me.
30 yrs ago I wouldn’t have even noticed it.
Nanny State Ping.
Smoke them if you have them.
It is not just the left, I have seen some people here support smoking bans.
Las Vegas is also experiencing double digit declines in revenue, so I don’t think one can blame this solely on the smoking ban.
Incrementalism works well.
Oh, but think of all the clean air for the fewer gamblers they serve.
Lower profits and less tax revenue to the state is a small price to pay for so much cleaner air, right? Right?
Gotta love nanny staters, cutting off their nose to spite their face.
(sarcasm for those that suffer from anal cranial inversion disorder)
Fascism is an equal rights employer!
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