Thursday, May 08, 2008

Good news for smokers

Breathe deep the gathering gloom
Great news for smokers or those who just like to work in a smoky environment:

The House of Representatives will not take up a proposal that could have extended the state smoking ban to the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos, the chamber's leader said Tuesday.

One day before the adjournment deadline of the 2008 regular session, the decision by the House Democrats effectively killed the bill, which had been aggressively sought by some labor groups but opposed by other unions and by the owners of the two casinos, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes.
And here I thought there were no advantages to having a tax and regulation exempt casino.

I hadn't much thought about smoking in the casino but it seems something we should have included in the Middleboro IGA with the Mashpee Wamnpanoag. Aww to heck with Massachusetts state law.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dogtrack owners should pay attention to this. If there is an indian casino down the road that allows smoking, and your dog track (with slots) doesn't, why would I be a patron at your dogtrack? Tribal casinos are local economy vacuums, dogtracks included.

Bellicose Bumpkin said...

You raise a good point. Being exempt from state and local taxes is huge competitive advantage. Whether it's meals, gas, goods, or slots, area businesses will not be able to compete.