A year after suspending a smoking ban put on Atlantic City casinos, city officials are reviewing the policy while hoping to salvage gambling revenues already in full plummet.

Atlantic City lawmakers had planned for a casino floor smoking ban to start out last fall, only to seek out that gaming revenue was already dipping precariously because of the onset of the recession. After a year's free pass to continue allowing smoking, the ban suspension is set to expire, raising the question of ways much damage the casino industry will suffer if non-smoking again becomes the guideline for brand spanking new Jersey gambling venues.

Anti-smoking advocates care only about preventing others from smoking, asserting that the ban on casinos will save lives, worth any amount of cash. But in a town which lost almost twenty percent of its gaming jobs last year, some are asking what good it's going to do them to respire smoke-free air while within the unemployment line.

The ban was implemented for 2 weeks last year, wherein already-steep casino revenue declines doubled. Now, with revenues already down fifteen percent, gaming operators are fearful a whole smoking ban stands out as the last nail in lots of casino coffins.

Since returning to the guideline that a maximum of 1 / 4 of the casino floor can permit smokers, areas featuring smoking in casinos have done markedly more business than non-smoking, indicating a powerful desire by patrons to retain smoking areas.

Politicians and casino operators alike fear that if anti-smoking groups have their way, they'll reverse the standard flow of gambling revenue from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, completing the collapse of recent Jersey gaming. Pennsylvania allows smoking on 1/2 gambling floors.

Published on September 29, 2009 by VirginiaMaddox

Read More... [Source: Atlantic City Casino News]