Casino smoking ban exemption up for debate
11th March, 2008
Speakers at a public hearing in Harrisburg have argued for an exemption for casinos to a proposed smoking ban.
The ban is currently the subject of debate, with a House-Senate conference committee seeking to find a compromise which will prove workable following the approval of a smoking ban in principle last year by the Pennsylvania Senate.
That bill prescribed that a quarter of casino floor space could be kept exempt from the ban, something that some legislators said was important to ensure the casinos remained popular.
The Times Tribune reported the views of Senator Robert Mellow, D-Peckville, who said some gamblers would go to another state if they couldn't smoke.
Those attending the hearing included local casino representatives, with one, speaking on behalf of Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington County, saying that a ban meant the casino sector was working with "one arm tied behind its back".
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