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Nov 17, 2008 6:02 am US/Eastern
Casino Smoking Ban Comes To An End
ATLANTIC CITY (AP) ―
After a month of fresh air inside Atlantic City's 11 casinos, the smoke is
back.
A temporary smoking ban was officially lifted at 12:01 Monday morning, and gamblers will be permitted
to light up for at least the next year.
Earlier this year, the
City Council enacted a total smoking ban for all 11 casinos. It was cheered by
many casino workers worried about their health, as well as by anti-smoking
groups.
But casino operators
and many gamblers decried the ban, saying it would drive customers away in
droves.
The ban went into
effect on Oct. 15. But as the financial meltdown led to even steeper declines
at the casinos and forced layoffs, the council changed its mind and agreed to
repeal the smoking ban for at least a year.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
