{"id":178453,"date":"2021-07-02T14:49:37","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T21:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/smoke-free-advocate-fuming-over-plan-to-reverse-shreveports-casino-smoking-ban\/"},"modified":"2021-07-02T15:01:33","modified_gmt":"2021-07-02T22:01:33","slug":"smoke-free-advocate-fuming-over-plan-to-reverse-shreveports-casino-smoking-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/smoke-free-advocate-fuming-over-plan-to-reverse-shreveports-casino-smoking-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoke-Free Advocate Fuming Over Plan to Reverse Shreveport’s Casino Smoking Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

A smoke-free consultant is taking the Shreveport, La., City Council to task for trying to exempt casinos from an upcoming smoking ban.<\/p>\n

\"Smoke
A sign outside a Shreveport, La., bar proclaims that smoking is not allowed inside. A ban on smoking is set to take place at casinos and bars in the city on Aug. 1. (Image: Shreveport Times<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Randy Hayden, a consultant with Americans for Non-Smokers Rights, told Casino.org<\/i> he knew there would be an effort to \u201cdelay, amend, or repeal\u201d the casino smoking ban. Hayden is president of Creative Communications in Baton Rouge. The measure, approved last year, is set to begin Aug. 1. Shreveport is in northwestern Louisiana. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

When the tobacco industry and casino industry get in cahoots, you can bet somebody is going to suffer,\u201d Hayden said. \u201cIn this case, it\u2019s the employees, patrons, and vendors of facilities that were promised clean workplaces more than a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Councilman James Flurry recently introduced an amendment to exempt casinos from the upcoming smoking ban. The issue could be addressed at the council\u2019s next scheduled meeting July 13.<\/p>\n

Flurry, who previously voted in favor of the ban, said a ban could drive gamblers away and lead to job losses at the city\u2019s two riverboat casinos, according to KEEL News Radio.<\/p>\n

Hayden told Casino.org<\/i> gambling halls don\u2019t lose money because of smoke-free laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey lose money because of bad management and literally dozens of other factors, such as high taxes and regulatory costs,\u201d Hayden said. \u201cIf the City Council is so concerned about casino income, why doesn\u2019t it lower its local boarding fees?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ban Delayed<\/h2>\n

In June 2020, the Shreveport City Council passed the Smoke Free Air Act, banning smoking in bars, casinos, and gaming facilities. The ordinance was to take effect in August 2020.<\/p>\n

\n

However, the City County delayed the ban for casinos<\/a> until Aug. 1, 2021. Some officials were worried about job losses during the coronavirus pandemic if gamblers who smoke take their money elsewhere. Casinos and bars across the Red River in Bossier City do not ban smoking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe can talk about secondhand smoke all day long in these casinos and what it does to the employees. But if those employees don\u2019t have a job, it\u2019s going to be worse,\u201d Councilman Grayson Boucher said last year,<\/p>\n

Hayden said the ordinance that the council approved last year doesn\u2019t \u201cban\u201d smoking at casino sites.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are simply asking smokers to step outside, just like they do in every other business in the city,\u201d the consultant said. \u201cI don\u2019t understand why the casinos are so willing to poison their own employees and most of their customers just to keep a smoker in his or her seat?\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Continued Guest Requests’<\/h2>\n

Casinos in other states also have banned smoking. In Las Vegas, smoking bans have been implemented at some casinos on the Strip<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the newly opened Resorts World, smoking is banned everywhere except the casino floor. The $4.3 billion resort is on the west side of the Strip where the now-demolished Stardust once stood.<\/p>\n

Also on the Strip, Park MGM banned smoking last fall throughout the hotel-casino. This resulted from \u201ccontinued guest requests,\u201d according to Anton Nikodemus, an MGM Resorts executive. NoMad Las Vegas, a luxury \u201chotel-within-a-hotel\u201d at Park MGM, also has banned smoking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas has banned smoking from some public spaces, but not the gaming floor. The Cosmopolitan is on the west side of the Strip, north of Park MGM.<\/p>\n

In New Jersey, a pandemic-related indoor smoking ban expires July 4,<\/a> allowing casino patrons to light up. Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has said he would be open to signing legislation to ban smoking inside casinos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A smoke-free consultant is taking the Shreveport, La., City Council to task for trying to exempt casinos from an upcoming smoking ban. Randy Hayden, a consultant with Americans for Non-Smokers Rights, told Casino.org he knew there would be an effort to \u201cdelay, amend, or repeal\u201d the casino smoking ban. Hayden is president of Creative Communications […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":178454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSmoke-Free Advocate Fuming Over Plan to Reverse Shreveport's Casino Smoking Ban - Casino.org Smoke-Free Advocate Fuming Over Plan to Reverse Shreveport's Casino Smoking Ban<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A smoke-free consultant is taking the Shreveport, La., City Council to task for trying to exempt casinos from an upcoming smoking ban. 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