Nevada casinos poison Macau workers

Efforts by casino workers in Macau to get rid of smoking appear to have failed, with government officials instead likely to require smoking lounges to pacify the workers.

Familiar Nevada names like MGM Resorts, Wynn and Las Vegas Sands are players in the toxin war. Customers may come and go, but workers are exposed to smoke for entire shifts.

In protest marches in January and last week, casino workers said they wanted the full smoking bans in casinos. “It's unreasonable to say that people would stop coming to Macau for gambling when they can't smoke when playing,” casino union member Kelvin Leong Kuok-cheong told the South China Post. “I've even seen a gambler who didn't go to the toilet for 10 hours.” Another protest is set for July.

The workers also protested constant toadying of government officials to tourism, saying that when land on the cramped peninsula becomes available, it is usually made available to the casino industry instead of being used for housing.