It’s happening at Atlantic City Hotels and Casinos

Mankind has always been curious about the history of the world, and with recent developments in archeology, more and more has become abundantly clear. What we have found is proof that a species dominated the earth longer than humans ever drew breath, and that species is dinosaur. This was a ferocious and terrifying species that ruled not through diplomacy and trade, but in some cases through fear and primal instinct. We are mystified by these species and we have done all that we can to learn more about them.

No doubt you have at some point seen the plethora of movies that have been made about dinosaurs. From time travelers in a bad movie, to a modern day tale of genetic experiments on an island in the middle of nowhere, dinosaurs have been a subject of both fascination and excitement for the young and old for many years and so far there is no evidence that is going to change any time soon. For this reason it was inevitable that dinosaurs would suddenly break onto the big screen.

Recently a total of ten million pounds was spent on an arena presentation of the cretaceous period in all it’s glory. This is presented to the public in an arena setting, meaning that the show will be displayed in a huge screen for your viewing pleasure. If you are a fan of dinosaurs or ever have been in the past then this will be a great experience for you to become closely acquainted with your favorite lizards from ages past.

You can experience this event from July all the way to august, so get ready to buy your tickets and take a trip into the past that you never would have thought possible. If this sounds like something that would interest you then you are quite in luck as you can find all the information you need regarding attending the shows online either at it’s official website or on the website of one of their many affiliates. This happens to be a huge event so you will no doubt be able to find someone that has decided to cover it!

Whether you are young or old, big or small, you will enjoy this presentation as it drags you through the creation of dinosaurs all the way to their humble end. No matter who you are, this is the show for you. So head online, or call your local box office for showtimes and prices. This is definitely one show you’re not going to want to miss.

If you do happen to miss one showing don’t be incredibly discouraged because chances are you will catch the next one! Not to mention it’s showing at many different places, so you aren’t going to experience overcrowding regardless of how popular the show happens to be. Just keep an eye out for showtimes and you’ll be able to get in on it in no time!

Image Courtesy : http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/10/07-week/

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The 100% smoking ban was in effect for only a few days before the City Council reverted back to the 75-25 law that allows 25% of the slot floor to be smoking and the rest smoke free. - http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/article.cfm?contentID=175911. We’ve heard debates for and against the law all of 2008. A recent poll shows that 47% of the pollers were acceptable to smoking inside Atlantic City casinos. That is a significant statistic. The debate continues - http://www.topix.com/forum/city/atlantic-city-nj/T2HB61AUHCT0IQ2NT.

The 75-25 law perhaps does not do enough for non-smokers and leaves smokers feeling unwanted all the same. The law tries to satisfy both but really falls short in both directions. The comment by a non-smoker:

I for one was a die hard Atlantic City gambler until the smoke just was too much and I actually felt the negative effects personally. I elected to go to the 100% SMOKE FREE Slot Casinos in DELAWARE. Not really the same but will do until AC wakes up and pulls their heads out of the sand. People don’t want to be around smoke anymore, plain and simple.

And here’s one by a smoker:

One thing the poll does not identify is how many people that participated in the poll actually visit the casinos? I think a general poll would provide the results reported, but a poll of the people that actually go to casinos on a regular basis would give you different results, most likely an increase in the acceptance of smoking and increased smoking areas.

At AtlanticCity.com, we lean towards a smoke-free Atlantic City. We feel that smokers can always smoke outdoors or in designated smoking areas. Fresh air is something everyone loves - even smokers. It can never go out of fashion.

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Atlantic City now has much cleaner air since April 15, from the day when a new smoking law went into effect and restricted smoking to no more than 25 percent of casino floors in the city. The law took effect exactly a year after New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act prohibited cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking in private office buildings, restaurants, bars, and other indoor places. Smoking in Casinos, however, remained unaffected. Smoking bans have proven to be the biggest motivation for people to want to quit

The council had been ready, after New Jersey’s ban on smoking in all workplaces except casino floors and tobacco shops took effect in 2006, to completely ban smoking on the casino floors. But it was a move casino owners vigorously opposed because they feared a substantial drop-off in business with gamblers who smoke. The casinos were probably right that a complete ban would have resulted in lost customers and revenue. So the city council instead passed an ordinance limiting smoking to no more than 25 percent of the casino floor.

The new law is a result of conciliation between Atlantic City and the casino industry in the city. While the city intended to ban smoking completely in the city’s 11 casinos, the casino industry objected, saying the move will result in a 20 percent loss of revenue and the termination of up to 3,400 casino employees. Casinos in the city placed signs to notify the patrons which areas are smoke-free and where they can indulge themselves in a cigarette. Only few people needed to be reminded not to smoke in smoke-free areas.

As enclosed lounges will protect casino workers from cancer-causing smoke. The enclosed smoking lounge on casinos floors in Atlantic City, approved by the city council there, makes sense. Ultimately, this is a solution that takes the interests of smokers and nonsmokers into account and offers a reasonable solution.

Not surprisingly, that solution has not been loved by dealers and other casino workers who are still exposed to cancer-causing cigarette smoke. However, one casino, the Tropicana, came up with a plan to make its casino floor smoke-free except for enclosed smoking lounges, thus sparing dealers from having to stand a foot or two away from lit cigarettes. Other casinos followed suit with these lounges. Offering smokers a place to light up without having to walk too far from the slot machine or table where they’re playing is a practical solution. Smokers can get their fix without having to walk far to get to the Boardwalk or street. Dealers and other workers don’t have to breathe in the smoke and risk their health.
According to health experts, the ban has already started to show short-term benefits to the health of the nation and there are expected to be significant long-term benefits. According to a new report released in England, over 40% of smokers who tried to quit their habit, did so because of smoking bans in public places where they went. Smoking bans are becoming more and more of a common thing in the U.S. and abroad. Every year an estimated 53,000 Americans die because of exposure to secondhand smoke, say health experts, and that’s not to mention the hundreds of thousands who develop serious diseases as a result — cancer, asthma and heart disease. So far, 18 states have passed laws banning smoking in public places, but sometimes special exemptions in those laws make the bills all but meaningless.

The full smoking ban was to take effect 90 days after being signed into law by Evans. But just before the vote, a compromise was reached between council members and casino officials to extend the deadline to Oct. 15, 2008 to have the smoking lounges built.

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Atlantic city seems to be tending to go smoke free. This is one of those tricky issues that noone really knows what the right thing to do is. So, two years ago, the state of New Jersey banned smoking at all public buildings except casinos. Casinos were left out because of the obvious threat to reducing the appeal of Atlantic City to a large segment of tourists. Surveys and studies confirmed the fear that smoking restructions could seriously affect the Atlantic CIty economy. Well, the casinos’ luck might be running out.

USA Today reported today that State officials are set to vote on whether to make smoking illegal at all casinos except at designated smoking areas. Read the full story here.

Now, I am not a smoker myself and this would be favorable to me. However, here’s a really tough choice for the officials. What’s more important, a marginal health risk or the risk of serious economic slowdown?

Several other gaming jurisidictions have banned smoking recently in the last year or two including the Black Hawk mountain casinos near Denver, Colorado. These casinos have reported an estimated 3-4% drop in revenues JUST from this ban alone. That’s several billions in lost revenue. Several millions in lost tax money for the State. Several thousand jobs lost, since layoffs are happening in all casino companies today.

On the other hand, the health risks from smoking are becoming more and more clear and scientifically proven. But is it the state’s business to curb people’s freedom of entertainment? Will this result in actual reduction in the injuries from tobacco or will it actually increase tobacco consumption since people do like to do forbidden things - like in the case of marijuana? Time will tell again, but if you have any thoughts on this issue, please comment and share with us.

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