n/s N.O.

[notes1]

no comment when i provided the evidence you requested regarding NO casino revenue drop. you are welcome. AC is NOT smoke free. every casino i have been in at AC offers plenty of gaming/smoking options for those who which to use them. so, your assertion i made a correlation between AC 's demise and smoking is false. those who can read, will note i never mentioned anything about a statewide smoking ban, i did mention that Revel was smoke free and that fact and other reasons, has been cited for it's failure. the reasons you cite for AC's revenue drop have been stated on this forum countless times before, but appreciate your expertise. with all the false statements corrected, i DID state that there was a direct correlation between NO revenue drop and smoking ban. i did not find fault with the decision, i simply pointed out what was obvious, if smokers have an option, they will take their business elsewhere, and that is exactly what they are doing. it may not be of concern to you, but when the casino starts laying off workers, it may bother those who lost their job. you obviously are an anti smoker, which is your right. i have taken no postion, other than to agree, it is harmful to one's health and all smokers know it. i believe all casinos should have seperate area for both and that seperation should be honored. i started the thread to point out the fact that NO had gone smoke free and it was likely that business would drop and there would be ramifications, which could include reduced payouts, to make up for loss of business. i thought that might be of interest to VP players.  

[DougJ]

. . . . i started the thread to point out the fact that NO had gone smoke free

The only fact you presented.

You can, of course, have your opinions about correlations and hypotheses. (see First Amendment)

Opinions do not become facts by virtue of shouting louder.

You're welcome.

[notes1]

 
Why I never gamble in Missouri casinos: 26% of the state population are smokers, the highest in the nation. Ugh. Illinois is a dream come true.


 according to gallop poll, kentucky followed by west virginia, have the highest percentage rate of smokers. this is confirmed by both the the huffington and washington post and cbs. i am whispering, you posted the wrong state with highest rate.

[notes1]

[QUOTE=notes1]
. . . . i started the thread to point out the fact that NO had gone smoke free

The only fact you presented.

[/QUOTE]
 i listed the article from the premier newspaper in new orleans, which quotes a harrahs spokesperson. the percentage of lost revenue i quoted, came from that article. ask someone to read it to you.

[OTABILL]

[QUOTE=DougJ] [QUOTE=notes1]
. . . . i started the thread to point out the fact that NO had gone smoke free

The only fact you presented.

[/QUOTE]
 i listed the article from the premier newspaper in new orleans, which quotes a harrahs spokesperson. the percentage of lost revenue i quoted, came from that article. ask someone to read it to you.
[/QUOTE]

I believe this is the article to which Notes was referring. FYI, I am lifelong non-smoker and have a real issue with smoke and inconsiderate smokers in casinos. I applaud making casinos smoke free (and as anyone who has read my posts/comments, I am no fan of CET) but facts are facts.

Harrah's blames New Orleans smoking ban for drop in revenue

BTW, here is another article relating to the impact of the smoking ban.

Harrah's New Orleans seeks to cut 400 jobs in shadow of smoking ban

[notes1]

I believe this is the article to which Notes was referring. FYI, I am lifelong non-smoker and have a real issue with smoke and inconsiderate smokers in casinos. I applaud making casinos smoke free (and as anyone who has read my posts/comments, I am no fan of CET) but facts are facts.

Harrah's blames New Orleans smoking ban for drop in revenue

BTW, here is another article relating to the impact of the smoking ban.

Harrah's New Orleans seeks to cut 400 jobs in shadow of smoking ban
 thank you. since i started this thread, i tried to NOT make this anything to do with smoking or any habit or action that one might do, that offends/bothers someone else.   it was simply about a decision that a jurisdiction made and what could be some possible ramifications that were expected or not. the topic of reduced paytables/payouts is often mentioned on this forum, this smoking decision could very well affect that very subject. thanks again. 

[DougJ]

[QUOTE=notes1.        . . ask someone to read it to you (quote)

Tsk tsk.

Personal attacks generally arise when a person is unable to state the facts and has lost the battle . . .

Done here.

[notes1]

[QUOTE=notes1.        . . ask someone to read it to you (quote)

Tsk tsk.

Personal attacks generally arise when a person is unable to state the facts and has lost the battle . . .

Done here.
 did you not see the post from otabill below. facts posted.something we agree on, done.

[Vman96]

[QUOTE=notes1.        . . ask someone to read it to you (quote)

Tsk tsk.

Personal attacks generally arise when a person is unable to state the facts and has lost the battle . . .

Done here.

And you also gave false facts in an earlier post. How cool is that???

Missouri is NOT the top smoking state in the nation!!!
Edit: Notes1 beat me to this.

Most recent survey I can find.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/167771/smoki ... tucky.aspx

The URL address even tells you the answer.

Fwiw, I'm also a non-smoker and would love Missouri and other states to ban smoking everywhere, but I'd much rather gamble in a St. Louis casino vs. the Queen or the Belle! And the monthly revenue reports back me up on this!!!

[rascal]

I am in South Mississippi (Waveland area) for a few weeks. I live in Arizona near Laughlin but I have some property here and I'm here and in New Orleans very regularly.

The decline at Harrahs' New Orleans casino is real and, in my opinion, it does indeed come from the smoking ban.

Here are the specifics. The smoking ban was not a big deal to gamblers in the immediate New Orleans area because there are several riverboat casinos located adjacent to New Orleans in Jefferson Parish, where smoking is fine. So for those in the immediate vicinity, it was easy to gamble elsewhere. Some of those moving to other casinos already had problems with Harrahs' New Orleans casino due to parking and traffic considerations, and to a lesser degree due to crime, so the smoking ban sort of pushed them over the edge.

The biggest loss to Harrahs, however, did not come from those in the immediate area, in my opinion. It came from the heavily populated northshore, across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. For people living on the northshore, Harrahs and nearby casinos in Bay St. Louis/Waveland, Mississippi, are equal driving distance.
With the new smoking ban, it was an easy decision for smoking northshore gamblers to move to Mississippi. In my opinion, that is where the majority of the revenue loss is coming from.

I am not just a lifelong non-smoker, but I am also in a profession where I have seen first-hand the ravages that tobacco addiction inflicts upon the human body. I am probably one of the most non-smoking video poker players you have ever met. That said, what the New Orleans city council did in banning smoking failed to take into consideration the unique market position of Harrah's New Orleans casino. Unlike statewide smoking bans that affect ALL of the casinos in an entire given region, the New Orleans ban affected only ONE casino, and the casino affected has numerous smoking competitors located within very easy driving distance.

These competitors have eagerly reached out to Harrah's smoking customers with billboard and radio and TV ads, promoting their smoking casinos. (I find it ironic that cigarette advertising is federally banned, but a casino can legally advertise that it is a haven for cigarette smokers!!)

I personally think it is difficult for a casino to operate without a base of steady, regular players. Casinos that rely heavily on tourist trade, such as Harrah's New Orleans, still need to have a base. Now that Harrah's base has been chased to other nearby, easily convenient smoking casinos, Harrah's New Orleans will only survive with operating expense cuts and with fantastic paytables that are widely promoted. At present, an attempt to cut the payroll is the only reactive move Harrah's has made.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I have no love lost for Harrah's, but this is an amazing (and disconcerting) example of how overzealous governmental regulation can fail to take into consideration free market economic basic principles.