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Empress Casino In Joliet Lays Off 56 Workers  

Fire Severely Damaged Casino, Shut It Down For 3 Months
Jump to full article: CBS 2 Chicago, 2009-09-23

Intro:

Empress Casino employees survived a fire that shut down the operation for three months. But 56 casino workers lost their jobs last week in cuts the company attributed in part to a "soft economy." . . .

Illinois casinos began to cut back on employment since a statewide smoking ban went into effect in January 2008, said Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association.

Casino revenues fell after the ban went into effect. Chicago-area casinos were especially hard hit since customers had the option of going to Indiana where they could both smoke and gamble.

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