I am so tired of hearing about smoking and lung cancer when in fact there are other reasons to get lung cancer. The EPA estimates one in 15 homes have high levels of radon gas in them. Radon gas is also a cause.
If you were running a legal business would you want someone to tell you how to run it? I think not.
No one is forcing anyone to work in the gaming industry. Most do it because it’s good money and the job is easy and clean.
Yes, I do smoke and will continue. If there would be a smoking ban I would drive to Overton, the reservation or to Las Vegas; I do it once in a while anyway.
If there were a smoking ban here the casinos would lose about $500 a month from me alone. I’m also sure jobs would be lost.
Non-smoking people wouldn’t stop there. There would be a push for more and more bans such as no smoking in public parks, in cars if there are children, in homes where there are children, outside or in public period…there’s no satisfying them.
Last year I was at a casino in Kansas City and it was half smoking, half non-smoking which seemed like a great idea except the non-smoking side was empty. Guess where the gamblers were; yup, on the smoking side.
If non-smokers want to play their nickel, there are several places in Mesquite where they can do that. Smith’s has a small but nice slot room usually empty or a couple of people at most which is open 24 hours; have at it.
I’m sure others feel the way I do but many do not like to rock the boat for some reason. I’m also sure a change in city council could change the law once the so-called leaders we have now are voted out of office. I’m all for one term and out as it is.
Ron Eckels
Mesquite, NV
ogo
Always good to hear from someone who turns a blind eye to the fact that smoking kills, plain and simple. I have lost 4 sisters, my father and my best friend to cancer directly caused from cigarettes. Of course there are other ways to get lung cancer, but smoking is still number one. The $500 a month they lose from you would easily be replaced many times over from non smokers. Like it or not they are the majority by a land slide.
I certainly agree we do not have the right to legally force the casinos to go to no smoking. However, it is only a matter of time until popular opinion and the health of their employees pressures them into making the change. Like it or not, it’s coming very soon.
There are currently 100’s of casinos doing very well with no smoking policies. It does however work better in bigger gaming cities where there are more casinos and the smokers always have the option of going to another casino.
There are currently many cities and I believe states that have passed laws making it illegal to smoke in your home or car if children are present, While as an adult you have the right to make the decision to smoke, you don’t really have the right to force that decision on your innocent children who have no say in the matter and do not realize the dangers you are exposing them to. So yes, in tike you can expect these laws to passed too.
I am a life time non smoker who comes from a very large extended family. I can tell you first hand from my own family tree that it is easy to point out the smokers. They are always in the worst health and die early, way too early. Typically every one of them would wake up hacking and coughing every day due to all the crap in their lungs.
Bottom line is, I’m all for making all public locations non smoking, and I am glad that day is coming soon. But forcing businesses to do it by law is not the way to go. Encouraging them to do the right thing for their employees and the bulk of their customers is the right thing. The ones who should be inconvenienced are the smokers. They are in the minority, and they are endangering the health and lives of others.
I go to eat at the casinos and immediately leave. I come home and remove my clothes and outside they go. It is a shame no one can agree to find a solution to this problem. In Laughlin the non-smoking side was crowded so I differ on what I read.
So it’s okay to bully a minority to get your way, nonsense. This is private business and in no way should even think you should be able to dictate how they run their business. If you are in sync with socialistic ideals, the perfect place to be is Cuba.
Also as an aside, I lost a child to cancer of the esophagus and he never smoked. People die all of the time from cancers and lung related diseases without being smokers. It was very hurtful when I spoke of him and people just assumed he was a smoker. That is how ignorant people can be.
Yes we are tired of your whining. And no we will not roll over for you. There are plenty of places to go in Mesquite that are non smoking, in fact almost all businesses.
Ron,
Where do you think the work is easy and clean? Have you worked in a casino? I have and it is not easy and it is not clean. Would you like to handle all of that dirty money and would you like to stand on your feet for 8 hours a day 5 days a week? How would you like to stand at a table dealing cards on your feet all during your shift to people who are constantly smoking in your face? And money? The casino workers get minimum wage. Yes most departments get tips but as hard as some of the employees work a lot of times they never get enough tips. Now why do you feel you have the right to smoke in the casino in front of the employees that according to you “work is easy and it is clean”. Stand in their shoes for 8 hours and then talk about how smoking is OK.
Steve – you sound crazier than that old shirtless man who used to walk up and down Mesquite Boulevard!
1) Those who seek employment with any casino in this town should know that every one of them (including the Stateline, Dotty’s and the Golden West) is full of smokers. Plain and simple: you don’t wanna smell like smoke, or breathe in that second-hand garbage, don’t apply to work there. Mesquite is a unique town where there is not a huge variety of employment. Have you ever worked for any of these casinos? Their employees have been demanding change for awhile but you can see what is being done about that… I’d have to say the Eureka probably treats their employees better than the rest in town. I highly doubt a change is coming any time soon (and if it does, I will apologize).
2) The “100s of casinos doing well with no smoking policies” are not here, so that argument doesn’t apply. We can’t see it for ourselves. You said it yourself, “it works in bigger gaming cities where there are more casinos with the option of going to another casino.” Other casino options in Mesquite is another casino that allows smoking. Next.
3) I’d like to know what cities and states have passed an asinine law making it illegal to smoke in your home or car if children are present. There are so many things wrong with that, I can believe it happening in a foreign country, but please present evidence of these laws. Yes, I know it’s not right to smoke in an enclosed area with your infants, your babies, young children, even adults, but that is really no ones right to tell a parent that. A lot of people don’t have common sense, but it’s no one’s business how one raises their children. Really, before and of you fly off the handle, think about it: would you let me tell you not to spank your misbehaving child in your car? Your home? If you really feel the need, call CPS and report it. See where it gets everyone involved and return with the results.
4) I can’t make complete sense of your last paragraph. It sounds like you’re for one thing in the beginning of your opinion letter but not for it at the end of it, and vise versa.
I’m not a smoker, either, but I don’t worry about what others are doing about their health. It’s none of my business. Live the way you want to live, because it’s your life and you are living it. Don’t be a dick and police everyone else’s lives.