The city of New Orleans enacted a total smoking ban in bars, restaurants, casinos, and other public spaces in April 2014.

The purpose of the law is to extend existing statewide smoking bans within city limits. The new law means it’s illegal to smoke within five feet of everything from public parks to colleges and even city jails and prisons.

Using e-cigarettes and vaporizers is also considered smoking. So that’s also forbidden. We’ll talk more about it here at Xgtiger Casino.

How do operators of New Orleans gambling venues feel about this?

They were angry.

The Louisiana State Police, which oversees gambling in Louisiana, has predicted that the state could lose $104 million in tax revenue and fees from implementing this ban. That number comes from Gaming Enforcement Commission records in a study done on smoking bans at Atlantic City and Delaware gaming properties.

That study, which you can read as a PDF file, accurately predicted a 12% drop in revenue for Delaware after banning smoking in gambling halls. Another part of that study indicated a substantial 20% reduction in Atlantic City’s income in the two years following the South Jersey smoking ban. However, that prediction has yet to be proven.

Their argument is simple enough. As the New Orleans advocate put it, “[Casinos, restaurants, and bars] argue that tourists come to New Orleans because they like to gamble and drink. The city was one of the last to allow smoking in some public places.” Removing that will change the way people think about New Orleans.

How many will decide not to return?

What did they do about it?

Opponents of the ban became active.

At first, Harrah’s tried to delay the ban, saying they needed more time to help their employees and customers adjust to the new rules. The New Orleans City Council saw through that smokescreen (pun intended), embarrassing Harrah’s for trying to amend city law to benefit their vested interests. For their part, Harrah’s is currently engaging New Orleans in a difficult and costly lease renegotiation that should be seen as an attempt at revenge.

What Harrah’s did next was brilliant. Before the ban was implemented, the property made a big show of being “the first smoke-free slot machine casino in Louisiana.” At midnight, two days before the ban took effect, they ceremoniously removed ashtrays, handed out lollipops to frustrated smokers, and trained players not to be surprised by the ban.

This was a brilliant move as they were planning a counter attack the whole time.

Next, Harrah’s joined forces with several other local businesses affected by the ban and filed a civil court case to overturn the smoking ban. This action became more effective. It includes several large local companies (including Pat O Brien’s, Broussard’s, and several other New Orleans landmarks) and focuses on the potential loss of revenue facing the city.

The trial is scheduled for May 21. Is that negotiation Harrah’s forcing the city? New Orleans could spend anywhere from $4 – $30 million, which Harrah’s says is the cost of transitioning the smoking ban into their successful gaming business.

Who benefits from the New Orleans smoking ban?

I am cynical but not too negative. I’m okay with that.

Here’s who benefits from the smoking ban in New Orleans:

People who visit bars, hotels, restaurants, casinos, and other public spaces all benefit.

We know secondhand smoke is dangerous. The American Cancer Society says that secondhand smoke kills 42,000 people a year. It’s bad, and you probably agree that it should be banned unless you’re a libertarian or anarchist or something.

But more than that – people these days don’t want to go to places where smoking takes place. Times have changed – gone are the days when coming home from your waitressing job smelling of cigarettes was no big deal because everyone smoked. These days, fewer people smoke, and people who don’t want to smoke, don’t want to anymore.

City Council Member Latoya Cantrell, who proposed the legislation and has been clear about her support for it, pointed out that exposure to secondhand smoke costs the state millions of dollars a year in costs in health care. That is another angle to consider. It may be fiscally irresponsible to continue to allow smoking in public, even according to proponents of the ban.

So what happens?

Harrah’s is trying to put its money where its mouth is, threatening to shrink its state-mandated workforce from 2,400 to 1,500. They have a law that would allow them to do that.

With pressure on the city council from judges more willing to rule in favor of existing freedoms, it’s not clear the city will be able to maintain the ban as it stands now.

Bartenders and business owners continue to make the same point – you can read this article from VICE and the Guardian. What happens when nearby businesses get sick of smokers pouring into bars, casinos, and restaurants every few minutes? That seems to be the real threat to shop owners who worry about their customers getting up and leaving to satisfy their smoking habit.

If I had to make a guess, I’d say the ban is here to stay. I can’t find an example of a city lifting a smoking ban once implemented. It just doesn’t happen. As for how the city will be affected, I predict that Harrah’s will continue to do something until they get an exemption from the New Orleans City Council.

That means the city will rule in favor of the civil rights of customers at a business. That day was going to be really special.