Jump to full article: Hartford (CT) Courant, 2008-05-03
Author: MARK PETERS * Courant Staff Writer
Intro: The Senate debated into the night Friday whether to approve a proposal to ban smoking at the state's two tribal casinos. But all the talk about workers' health, potential legal challenges and tribal sovereignty is expected to have little effect on cigarettes and gambling.
Neither Gov. M. Jodi Rell nor House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, appear to support the ban. When asked late Friday if the House would consider the casino smoking ban bill, Amann responded: "I would think the answer would be no."
The state is projecting a deficit next year of as much as $80 million and could stand to lose more revenue if smokers start avoiding the casinos. The state receives 25 percent of the casinos' take from their thousands of slot machines. That equaled $430 million in the last fiscal year, senators said.
According to Amann, Rell would veto any smoking ban bill because of the potential impact on the state budget. Rell has already called for the legislation to be rejected in favor of direct negotiations with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes toward a smoking ban.
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