Smoking in Atlantic City Casinos Depends on Which Day It Is
To smoke, or not to smoke; that is the question dogging Atlantic City casinos. A smoking ban was passed by the city council despite the pleas of casino managers.
The new law against smoking is to go into effect tomorrow, October 15th. But since the law was passed, politicians have taken a second look. Atlantic City revenues have already been on a steady decline, and no smoking means another big drop in income.
More importantly to lawmakers, it also means less tax revenue for the city and state. So, after reconsidering, the city council is now willing to give casinos another year to prepare for the impact of the smoking ban.
But the earliest the council can vote to approve the extension is October 27th. This means that, for twelve days, Atlantic City casinos will be smoke-free.
The bungling of this situation will mean that much of the harm of a smoking ban will happen, without the benefits. Smokers will undergo cultural shock, and spread the word about the withdrawal of ashtrays from the casinos, causing a ripple effect on business.
Meanwhile, employees will only get a short break before returning to working in a second-hand smoke environment.
As a result, many customers will think Atlantic City has gone smoke-free, driving them away before the misconception can be revealed. Smoking will then return to irritate patrons and workers looking for non-smoking casinos.
Only government can screw things up this badly. This bungled mess of unintended consequences illustrates why trusting government to solve problems often just creates more difficulties.
