Smoker Wars at the Poker Table
March 26, 2009
So, a guy sits down at a Poker table and lights up a cigarette …
The dealer immediately tells him that the room is non-smoking. The player says it’s “his right to smoke”, and refuses to put it out. The floor is called, and they repeat the order to put out the cigarette. The player jumps up, grabs his chips, calls the employees fascist and Un-American, and storms out.
Sounds like a scene from a really bad movie, right?
I wish.
This very scenario actually played out this week while I was playing Poker.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again … smokers are their own worst PR.
The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act
In 2006, Proposition 5 or “The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act” was passed by voters in the State of Nevada. The law basically prohibited smoking in many public areas, but made sure that people were still allowed to smoke on the casino floor. Voters wanted to breathe, but they didn’t want to alienate gamblers.
The debate surrounding Prop 5 did, however, incite a veritable war between “smokers” and “non-smokers”. Some small restaurants/bars openly defied the law, while others got rid of food in order to keep smoking on-premises. Even now … three years later … the battle still rages. It’s not quite as in-your-face, but there is still a great deal of animosity and resentment over the topic.
Smoking Sign
Smoking Sign
Smoking Sign at The Flamingo
Smoking Sign at Circus Circus
Smoking Graffiti
Smoking Graffiti
Personally, I’ve never smoked tobacco on a daily basis. I have smoked it here and there, but it never had enough of an immediate effect for me to say “Wow, that was great … I gotta have more!”. It seems to be a drug for the easily amused. It’s hard to get addicted to something that bores the hell out of you, but to each his/her own.
I have always wholeheartedly supported the legalization of every drug, without exception. Heroin, crack, meth, whatever … I don’t think it should be illegal to voluntarily consume any substance.
This being the case, it always greatly surprises people to hear that smoking bans do not generally upset me.
“You??? Mr. Legalize all drugs and prostitution? You are not outraged by smoking bans? Doesn’t that make you a hypocrite?”
I don’t think it does, and I’ll tell you why.
I do not support bans on sodomy, but I do support banning it on the Monorail. I think it should be perfectly legal to take a crap, but I still think it should remain illegal to take a dump on the hood of my car.
The consumption of drugs is a private matter between the addict and the drug. I don’t necessarily think that a “right” exists to do it anywhere and everywhere.
There is a huge difference between banning the consumption of a substance, and banning where it can be consumed. For instance, alcohol is perfectly legal, but you cannot stroll through Walmart drinking a beer. Nor can you consume it in public parks in many jurisdictions. I have never heard this referred to as hypocrisy.
The general public has always observed the right to do things (such as have sex), while regulating where those things could be done (not on your front lawn). Even on private property, people have given the State the power to regulate. Hell, it is still illegal to smoke pot in the very definition of private property … your own basement … however, the same voters that passed Prop 5 also voted to keep pot illegal everywhere. Not a peep was heard from tobacco smokers over this violation of civil rights.
I think all drug addicts have a right to consume the drug of their choice in private, and most people hold this view to be perfectly reasonable.
Except “smokers”.
Smokers are a very, very unique type of drug addict and a great deal of them define themselves solely by their drug of choice. Many of them see themselves as “smokers” first, and “humans” second. It’s actually a very interesting phenomenon.
Smoking in Poker Room
I cannot count the number of times I have heard tobacco addicts say “I can’t go to that restaurant, because they don’t allow smokers to eat there.”
It is a bizarre statement.
This is like me saying “Sorry, I can’t go to that movie theater because they don’t allow masturbation … and I’m a masturbator”.
“Smokers” aren’t banned from anyplace in Las Vegas. “Smoking” is. There is a huge difference between those two facts.
Now, it sounds like I am being harsh on smokers. Certainly I do not think that all smokers are unreasonable people?
Don’t be ridiculous Of course not.
Just the overwhelming majority of them.
Through the course of my 40 years on Earth, I have found a higher-than-normal percentage of tobacco addicts to be nuttier than squirrel turds.
When I make the argument to my smoking friends that I happen to like the smell of Mace, and I therefore should be allowed to go around spraying it into the air in public for my own personal enjoyment, they almost always rebuke me with “Don’t be ridiculous!”. They honestly cannot draw the logical parallel between the two behaviors.
People who drink alcohol rarely, if ever, feel that their rights are violated if they are prohibited from drinking somewhere. Even though “second hand alcohol” is known to have no harmful effects, it is rare that someone who enjoys alcohol protests the prohibition in a specific setting. They see the restrictions as reasonable, and they simply drink at another time and place.
The smoker often reacts in the opposite manner. They take the prohibition of smoking as a referendum of their worth as a human being. It is intensely personalized. Smokers almost see themselves as a racial minority group, and see all attempts to regulate their drug intake as a form of religious persecution.
Yet, when given the chance, few of them help their cause.
Think about it for a moment. How many times have you been stopped at a stoplight, only to see someone nonchalantly toss a cigarette out the window. Or drop one on the sidewalk as if it were nothing. Living in Las Vegas, I see it multiple times a day. They do not even try to hide it. It is seen as a perfectly normal extension of the smoker’s self. “I am a smoker, and littering laws do not apply to me” seems to be the default mentality.
But I digress.
Even in 2009, many people who come to Las Vegas are still surprised to find that most Poker Rooms prohibit smoking.
Thankfully, the majority of Vegas poker players are aware of the no-smoking rule, and while they still bitch and moan about it at the table, or take frequent breaks to get a fix, they do accept it. I like to think that people like myself reciprocate by keeping our yaps shut at the Blackjack table while we are getting a face full of smoke the whole time. Most of us have learned to co-exist.
Not always, though. The scene that I witnessed this week is not as rare as one might think. From time to time, there will still be a large outburst from a player who is used to smoking at home while playing cards, and who thinks it is an outrage that they cannot do so in Las Vegas.
“I thought this was Sin City!” they will sometimes say.
“I can’t believe you caved in to political correctness!” they will also say.
“What are you, fascists?” is another one.
However, my favorite smoker story of all time was when I was playing at the Mandalay Bay about a year and a half ago. A guy walked in, proceeded to light up, and was … of course … told to put it out.
This guy was livid. He screamed about how the Mandalay obviously did not want his money, and exclaimed that he wasn’t going to give a penny of his money to “Mandalay Bay”. Not only that, but he proceeded to tell us all that Las Vegas was going straight to hell, and that he would no longer tolerate it.
The guy stormed out, and I assumed that he had hailed the next cab to the airport to take him home.
After I was done at the Mandy Poker Room, I took the Tram over to the MGM Grand, and began walking toward the Monorail.
When I got to the casino floor, who did I see?
Angry smoker guy puffing away at a 6:5 Blackjack table.
True to his word, he wasn’t giving “Mandalay Bay” a single cent of his money. Instead, he was giving their parent company, MGM/Mirage all of his cash, and was making sure Las Vegas was staying on the straight and narrow by giving us all the 6:5 action we could handle.
That, my friends, is the very reason why smoking will never be outlawed on casino floors in this town.
Written by tully on March 27, 2009 at 12:38 am
How can anyone who plays poker be unaware that most poker rooms are now non-smoking? It’s not just LV, it’s the case throughout the country. So it’s not like the city’s rooms are being unusually pissy about it.
Did anyone direct him to Boulder Station or AZ Charlies? Guessing he didn’t stop squawking long enough for that to happen. Shame he got so angry and stormed off—-if he’s willing to play 6/5, what do you think his poker game is like?
Written by Marc on March 27, 2009 at 1:55 am
Awesome story. And it’s so true. You are spot on with your take on smokers.
Smokers are victims and they feel it is within their right to smoke wherever they choose regardless of it’s affect on people. I am almost 4 months smoke free and I used to pickup trash that has littered the street, but mindlessly chuck my bud out the window. Their mentality is amazing.
Written by Hot Dog Guy on March 27, 2009 at 2:18 am
This is not Vegas but it is the most rediculous non/smoking true story I have ever heard.
In Chicago It is illegal to smoke on on City Park property, however you are allowed to smoke on public property such as the city sidewalk. If you go to Lincoln Park Zoo, you are not allowed to smoke on any of the grass (no pun intended) along the outside of the Zoo itself. Penalty for smoking while standing in the grass is a ticket which results in a fine. However, if you are on the sidewalk that runs along the grass in front of the Zoo, you are permitted to smoke. If you step off the sidewalk for any reason with a cigarette in hand, you are subject to a fine; step back on to the sidewalk and you are once again legal.
Has anyone taken the time to read any of those signs on the entry door to Malls that say “Beacuse we care for the health of our employees, this building is a smoke free facility. No smoking allowwed anywhere on the premises”. What a bunch of BS that is. Translated into English it says that “our insurance company has told our accountants that we can save tens of thousand dollars on our premiums if we were to ban smoking everywhere in the building, and we have also been told that we can save additional thousands of dollars in maintenance expenses” So in other words it means they are are banning smoking because it will save money for them and it actually has nothing to do with any concern for the health of their employeees; they just threw that in because they thought it makes them look like they are almost human is all.
There is no more annoying type of person than a former smoker who has been reformed and now is on a crusade to rid the world of smokers by use of the fake cough that continues to get louder the longer you ignore them. These crusaders do not care if this happens to be a area where smoking is allowed, they just want to carry on the crusade is all.
One last thing is a comment about designated smoking areas.
I didn’t mind when part of a building was designated as no smoking and the other half for smokers.
I didn’t complain when designated smoking area meant a area set off aside as the only area smokers could light up in.
Hell, I only lightly objected when they moved the designated smoking area outside in middle of freezing winter.
But now there are areas that will even hassle you for smoking inside your own vehicle while parked in their parking lot. That is raking the whole smoking ban thing a step too far.
Written by Mike on March 27, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I have to say that until it is made illegal, smokers can smoke. Good for them. But I agree with Rex that these people are the most ignorant and uncaring people to walk the face of the earth. It’s bad enough you don’t care that your “right to smoke” violates my right to breath, but take an elevator with a bunch of people who just had a puff. My eyes burn, I get nauseated. My clothes smell from a 5 floor ride with these people, yet they see nothing wrong with affecting my health and well being.
Maybe Rex is right. I like the smell of Pine scented aerosol so I will spray it all around everytime a smoker comes near. Or maybe I will just eat all the beans I can and fart all the time. It’s my right.
Written by jinx on March 27, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Can’t say I disagree with this article, I know it happens and as a smoker I try and respect wherever I’m at and the people around me, heck I tend to play more machines now on a trip as I just want to relax in an area away from everyone and not bother them with the smoke.
However, there is a point that the regulations become a bit ridiculous, especially considering the government is more then happy to continue taxing the crap out of cigs. Now I realize that Vegas taxing of cigarrettes is minimal, the high cost is mostly due to the availability on the strip but off strip they aren’t bad, but many states, prices can approach 7-8 dollars a pack. If the drug is so detrimental that it has to be banned in places (not debating that’s possible), then ban it outright or at the very least let the business owners make their choices on whether to accept smokers. In my opinion a business has a right to allow a legal drug to be partaken in their establishment, or at the very least have the right to secure a permit on it (i.e alcohol). This is where I think that the laws themselves are a bit ridiculous, smokers are certainly the minority, so putitng it up for majority vote seems rather foolish and hypocritical when you consider that it affects businesses and the government continues to tax the hell out of it.
Written by Hot Dog Guy on March 27, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I agree with you 100% Jinx. You are certainly right about two things in particular. Owners of establishments should have the legal right to determine for themselves if they want their place to be smoke free or not and then leave it to the customers to decide if they want to patronize that establishment or not. That is the free emterprise system at work.
Also you hit the nail on the head about the taxation on cigarettes. Like you I feel that if state and federal government officials believe that everyone should not smoke, then simply pass laws to make it illegal to sell or possess cigarettes, but don’t talk one way about themn and then use them to fill the state coffers from taxes on them.
Almost every state has become very dependent on the revenue they get from the sale of cigagettes. If a State was successful in managing to get everyone to stop smoking, what would the State do to make up for the loss of all that revenue? I do expect that the day will eventually come when smoking will be a thing of the past. The state governments better begin now to ween themselves away from the excessive dependence on the tax money they get from the sale of these cigarettes.
You can have a smoke free state or you can plan budgets around all those taxes that come in from the sale of the cigarettes. You can NOT have it both ways though.
Written by BC on March 28, 2009 at 11:33 am
Rex, you have such a talent for distilling complicated topics down to their core elements that you make it look easy. I can’t count the number of times I’ve read one of your columns and thought, “Yeah, what he said!” This is probably the best-ever example. Excellent job, as always.
Written by philipj on March 28, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I smoked from 1960 to 1976. Every year more information came out how much of a health hazard smoking was. When I quit it was burning up 3 packs of Marlboros a day. Now I comment to smoking friends that I am amazed at how wealthy they must be to be able to afford to smoke.
When people take up smoking, you have to wonder why their education failed. They have to know better.
When a smoker sat down at a non smoking blackjack table, he was adamant about he was going to smoke! I told him it was OK with me, but I am allergic to too much cigarette smoke, and I puke to the Right, where he was sitting……
Written by hugitout on April 14, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Yes you do have a great way of simplifying complicated topics. Everyone in my family smokes but I, and it can get so frustrating during family gatherings. I didn’t have a choice as a child, but as an adult, I feel that they should respect my not wishing to breath in their second hand smoke. Smokers do consider themselves smokers before they are humans. If there is no smoking allowed somewhere, my father grumbles the whole time saying that they don’t appreciate his business. He fails to realize that it’s the act of smoking and not the smokers themselves. Also, he throws his butts wherever he is w/o giving it a second thought that it’s littering, and many times they are still lit. I think the problem is also the generation gap, some older people still think it’s cool to smoke.