Where There’s Smoke There Are Profits, Casino Operators Say

LAS VEGAS —  Mark Savage, a victim of throat cancer, blames his malady on years of working in smoke-filled casinos. He isn’t happy with a proposed tobacco industry deal that would exempt gambling halls from a nationwide ban on smoking in public places.

But the exemption makes sense to Mike Brewer. Dipping into a tray of 50-cent pieces at a slot machine in the Rio Hotel-Casino, Brewer said no gambler would want to leave a machine or a table to go for a smoke while on a roll.

“Anyone with a brain knows it’s like a sync. When you get in that flow, you don’t want to stop gambling,” said Brewer, of Orange, who said he’s trying to quit smoking.

Wayne Mehl, a Washington lobbyist for the powerful Nevada Resort Assn., says the state’s lifeblood gaming industry could take a $1.9-billion hit over the next five years if casino smoking is banned.

The proposed $368-billion settlement between tobacco companies and 40 states that have filed lawsuits against the industry has rekindled a controversy in Nevada.

The settlement would restrict indoor smoking in public facilities, but would exempt casinos, bingo parlors, prisons, restaurants, bars, private clubs and hotel rooms.

A study commissioned by the Las Vegas and Greater Reno-Sparks chambers of commerce predicts dire consequences if smoking is banned in casinos. The study says gamblers would leave tables and slot machines for 12 minutes every hour to light up.

This, the study says, translates to:

* a $1.9-billion loss to the casino industry over five years;

* a sales tax loss of $50 million the first year;

* the loss of 20,000 to 30,000 jobs the first year.

The study, conducted by a University of Nevada, Reno professor, contends that one-third of all casino patrons are smokers and that 30% of nonsmoking patrons are married to or travel with smokers.

But Savage, who has never smoked and now heads the Nevada branch of the American Cancer Society in Reno, discounts the idea that smokers would boycott smokeless casinos for casinos on Indian lands or offshore, where federal regulations wouldn’t apply.

“Casinos used to cater to smokers because they were natural-born risk takers,” Savage said. “That demographic has changed. Casinos are now attracting more families.”

While casinos are loath to draw gamblers away from the tables for any reason, antismoking advocates have become increasingly vocal, saying puffing players are hazardous to the health of other customers and casino workers.

Resort officials have fought proposed smoking bans since 1987, when the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration first considered banning smoking in public buildings. The Nevada Resort Assn. lobbied against such a ban and won, with some help from Capitol Hill.

Nevada has one of the highest proportions of adult smokers--30%--and 29% of the state’s teens smoke, according to the state health division.

Mandy Canales-Salazar, program director of the American Cancer Society in Las Vegas, says Nevada leads the nation in the percentage of lung cancer cases, with 1,100 state residents dying annually from the disease.

Tony Badillo, a card dealer for 40 years until his recent retirement, recalls losing battles with smoking players.

“I think the secondhand smoke is dangerous, and the dealer doesn’t have any right to complain because he will be terminated immediately,” said Badillo, who now heads the Nevada Casino Dealers Assn. “One of my fellow workers asked a customer to move an ashtray slightly. The floorman got involved, and the dealer was terminated. The customers are very touchy.”

“Casino workers shouldn’t be forced to choose between their health and their livelihood,” said Willie Edwards, tobacco education and information officer for the Nevada Health Division.

The proposed tobacco deal would bar any class-action lawsuits by casino workers, such as a pending suit by flight attendants in Florida. To date, no such lawsuit has been filed.

Maureen Martelli of Alexandria, Va., who was dropping quarters into a slot machine at Rio Hotel-Casino, said she’d be upset if she had to take a break to go for a smoke, adding, “I don’t even want to leave to go to the bathroom.”