Legislature Folds on Casino Smoking Ban

It had been weeks since the Mohegan Tribe pushed a massive bet to the center of the table: a threat to immediately sue the state and place into escrow Connecticut's share of slot machine revenue if lawmakers imposed a smoking ban on their casino.

On Tuesday, with as much as $400 million in annual revenue from both of Connecticut's casinos at stake, the legislature finally folded.

Despite strong pressure from labor groups who want a smoking ban to protect their workers - and to demonstrate their clout after recently organizing some workers at Foxwoods Resort Casino - there has been widespread consensus among legislators and their aides that the Mohegans' bet was one that lawmakers and Gov. M. Jodi Rell could not afford to call, especially with the state facing a combined deficit of nearly $9 billion over the next two fiscal years.

For the complete story, please see Ted Mann, Finance Committee Kills Casino Smoking Ban Bill, TheDay.com, May 13, 2009.