Smoking at Atlantic City Casinos For Another Year

After passing a bill (back in April) forcing casino gaming floors in Atlantic City to go smoke-free earlier starting October 15, the Atlantic City City Council voted 5-4 to delay the ban. Why? The Press of Atlantic City reports the five members wanted "to help ease a decline in casino revenue, a move industry executives say could prevent further employee layoffs." However, one person yelled, "You gave us a death sentence!" and some union members heckled a union leader who supported the delay. And one man who worked at the Tropicana for 26 years before being laid off last year and blames his lung cancer on secondhand smoke from the job said, "It will never be a good time for (the casinos). It will come back next year and it will be the same story."