Economic collapse good for lung cancer, bad for Texas hold 'em
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| Photo by Jay Soldner |
On the Missouri side, Kansas City bar owners have blamed the smoking ban for hurting local businesses alongside the relative novelty of the Power & Light District and everyone losing their jobs.
Thanks to the bad economy, KCK residents will probably get to keep their lung candy a bit longer, but it'll be harder to play nickel slots while they puff.
First there's this story from the Associated Press, which says the recent collapse of just about everything is causing lawmakers across the country to think twice about smoking bans. We assume they should have better things to worry about at the moment, and the story notes that lawmakers have cold feet about messing with any business that's managing to turn a profit. This is bad news for Kansas anti-smoking advocates, who've been circulating a health report that claims the state would save $20 million in health-care costs within the first year of a smoking ban.
When KCMO banned smoking in bars and restaurants, the city left a loophole allowing smoking in casinos, which angered business owners since they couldn't let people light up unless they got the zoning, permits and slot machines to convince them to drop their kid's college fund. The universe at least has a sense of justice about these things. Which is why there's this story about how there will be at be one fewer place for Kansas smokers to go if the mom-and-pops do lose the ability to chose their preference. The arguments over gambling regulations started when legislation was introduced to try to kick-start the gaming industry's plans in Kansas. Since it would require lowering the state's cut of a casino's profits, among other changes, and since the state isn't exactly bringing money in hand over fist as it is, no one wants to back it. Over the last year, developers have withdrawn plans for casino's across the state. We're sure the canceled resort plans aren't entirely the fault of just one thing, be that legislation or monetary disintegration, we're just happy everyone's getting screwed equally.
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