ATLANTIC CITY (AP) — Ending a battle of more than a year, the City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to ban smoking on the gambling floor at all 11 Atlantic City casinos, starting on Oct. 15.

In a 9-to-0 vote, the Council did away with the last major loophole to a tough statewide ban on smoking in public buildings that had exempted gambling halls.

But patrons will still be able to light up in smoking lounges away from the gambling tables and slot machines, if the individual casinos choose to build them.

Casino workers — many wearing T-shirts with the slogan, “Nobody deserves to work in an ashtray” — burst into sustained applause when the votes were counted, and chanted: “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“The employees of Atlantic City’s casinos have hit a jackpot of their own tonight,” said Dr. Arnold M. Baskies, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society in New Jersey and New York.

“Hard-working casino employees have been keeping Atlantic City’s multibillion-dollar casino industry on a roll, but have been gambling with their lives for far too long,” Dr. Baskies said.

Source:http://www.casinonews.org/