[logline]

Originally Posted by logline

You're never going to win this debate, Swagger. Stop trying to justify your smoking with straw men arguments. Your comparing apples to orangutans... and you know it.

Oops. "You're"... not "your". I hate when others do that and there I went and did it.

[kimba01]

I doubt it will Be in my lifetime, but if is, I doubt I will be here anyway.

I've never even heard of Longhorn, but apparently the stench is less of an issue than the revenue they bring in. I wonder if they care that you aren't there. I've seen bars get rid of big players for less.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by logline

Oops. "You're"... not "your". I hate when others do that and there I went and did it.

But you care about doing it right. There's a difference between a typo and a sustained assault on the English language.

[clutchcargo777]

Originally Posted by kimba01

I doubt it will Be in my lifetime, but if is, I doubt I will be here anyway.

I've never even heard of Longhorn, but apparently the stench is less of an issue than the revenue they bring in. I wonder if they care that you aren't there. I've seen bars get rid of big players for less.

Fantastic chicken fried steak. Environment like any other small local place. Eldorado, Rainbow, Emerald Island.

I smoke, not when I eat, not when I'm anywhere but outside in an out-of-the-way place. I do this because I don't like smoke any more then non-smokers.

I've NEVER had a problem with the above local places. Their food is good, their ventilation is good.

I think the "ex-smokers are the worst" is at play here.

Just stop it already, you won!

[winter-rabbit]

A considerate smoker. Sounds really oxymoron. (:

In open spaces, smoke seems to find its way to a non-smoker. Even if the wind is on the smoker's side.

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

This is how nearly everyone feels. And this is the reason why "the trend is not smoker's friend" as stated in the title of this thread.

I used to smoke cigars for fook's* sake. I was one of those "conscientious smokers" who smoked outside, far away from doors and windows, and toss my nub into the chiminea when I was done. Naturally, I smoked more in the winter than summer.

The REASON I was one of those conscientious smokers is that I'm married to my wife. She's one of the majority who lumps cigarette smoke into the same category as "war" and "famine" and "pestilence." And I'm here to tell smokers that people like her outnumber them 3:1. Even in Las Vegas.

Let's assume for a moment that second-hand smoke isn't harmful at all. Totally freakin' unlikely. But we'll assume.

We can all agree that my "right to swing my arm" ends at the tip of the other guy's nose, right? But what if I just brushed up against his nose lightly, not causing any injury? (But being totally freakin' annoying about it.) And let's say I do this CONSTANTLY. I'm totally addicted to swinging my arm and brushing the tips of other people's noses. And let's say that I rub a mixture of Ben Gay and Tobasco sauce on my hands, just to crank the annoyance to 11. I am not hurting ANYONE. I'm just annoying the living [excrement] out of people.

What gives me the right to do that? Obviously, I don't have that right. It's ridiculous to think so. And it's the same with smoking. Even if it doesn't hurt anyone other than the smoker, it annoys the living [excrement] out of people.

So, BEST CASE SCENARIO, people who smoke in public places are unbelievably rude. That's the best case scenario. If second hand smoke is indeed harmful, people who smoke in public places are a bunch of goddamn bullies. And since the Centers for Disease Control thinks second-hand smoke is harmful, I'm prone to agree with them.

The day is fast approaching where so few smokers draw breath (ha!) that nobody will care what they think about anti-smoking rules and being shut out of public places.



* Lee Ho Fook was a dear friend, after all.

[tickyul]

One among many reasons I will not go into most casinos.......they allow smoking.

I am not asking for a Bigbrother solution.......I just will not utilize a business that smells
like roasting-horse@@it.

[kimba01]

Originally Posted by winter-rabbit

A considerate smoker. Sounds really oxymoron. (:

In open spaces, smoke seems to find its way to a non-smoker. Even if the wind is on the smoker's side.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by clutchcargo777

Fantastic chicken fried steak. Environment like any other small local place. Eldorado, Rainbow, Emerald Island.

I smoke, not when I eat, not when I'm anywhere but outside in an out-of-the-way place. I do this because I don't like smoke any more then non-smokers.

I've NEVER had a problem with the above local places. Their food is good, their ventilation is good.

I think the "ex-smokers are the worst" is at play here.

Sorry, but I disagree. My wife will not step foot in Longhorn again. And their chicken-fried steak is one of the truly great things in Las Vegas. It is the quintessential chicken-fried steak breakfast. And you can even substitute biscuits for toast. Now you have biscuits, sawmill gravy, chicken fried steak, eggs, and potatoes. And they practically give it away. And it's available right now -- 24 hours a day. But it doesn't matter. The smoke is overpowering there. The fact that you smoke probably gives you a bit of a "nasal shield." When I smoked, I didn't notice it as much either. But it sounds like you employ the same strategy that I did.

My wife won't have any part of that place. Their ventilation is NOT good. It's awful. There is a line of slot machines right up against the "restaurant." (Calling it a restaurant is generous. It's more like a diner. Nothing wrong with that, though.) And people play those machines and blow smoke right into the restaurant. There is residue everywhere. I can smell it before I even open the door. She can smell it in the parking lot. And people like her are currently in the majority. Even in Las Vegas.

[EA]

The longhorn is awesome. I don't care about the smoke. 5 bucks for country fried steak? Yes please.
6 bucks for a steak dinner? Yes please.
1 dollar beer? Yes please.

[WVREDLEG]

Frequent tourist here (8-10 trips a year avg over 15 yrs).

I don't care about smokers burning one or 20 on the casino floor because I choose where I play, and I choose not to sit down at a table or a machine by a person smoking. The smoker should be free to slowly poison themselves, but don't have the right or privilege to poison me, a dealer, a server, or anyone sharing the air with them.

As a tobacco user, I perpetually rationalize and justify my addiction--this is not sarcasm. I chewed for 35 years (started at 12). I went from a $200/month habit to a $25 month habit, but it is still a tobacco-based addiction, just a significantly reduced dose. I miss it and wish I was back to full speed...it is a deep and insidious master. Over the years, my example to my two children was that tobacco is okay, and both of them smoke as young adults...yet another cost of my selfish habit. I don't have the right to engage in my tobacco use wherever or whenever I want. Just as it disgusts me to have a rude smoker holding their smoke a foot from my face, it is nauseating to see a dude spitting brown juice into an empty water bottle.

So to the smokers who will debate that my anecdote doesn't apply because it is smokeless vs. smoke, we can agree to disagree--my story is not a part of a personal crusade. Tobacco is a dirty habit. It is a slow death by poisoning, and I get it that for some, the risk is worth it. Smoking while gambling will not be a deal-breaker for most. I see poker players standing just outside the poker room burning one--you adapt when necessary and "scratch the itch". In the future, it may take smokers a few more minutes to walk to a sanctioned smoker area to light up. On the other side of the issue, smoking on casino floors have not driven the non-smoking gambler away. Even if I choose to gamble in the non-smoking areas of the casino I frequent, I am still a non-smoker choosing to gamble in a smoke-permitted place.

Don't expect an expanded ban in Las Vegas to generate too much outrage in the smoker community. We, the consumers of tobacco products are dwindling, and do not have a right to use it anywhere...it was never anything more than a privilege.