DEADWOOD - Kim Gutierrez tucked her lighter and pack of Camels into the slot machine's tray and held her cigarette in her right hand so it wouldn't bother her gambling partner to her left.

She hardly smokes at home.

She's trying to quit.

She wishes the state would ban smoking in casinos.

But when the cherries spin and the lights flash and the bells go off, "the stimulation starts," and she needs a drag.

"It's a nasty habit," said Gutierrez of Lead, who was smoking and gambling at the Celebrity casino here Friday night. "If it were banned, I'd leave them in the car."

Opinions about smoking and casinos are not always logical, but they are strong.

As other states and cities start to ban smoking in casinos, and anti-smoking groups in South Dakota prepare for another run at doing so in Deadwood, gamblers here show a wide array of opinions on the controversial topic.

In 2002, the Legislature made it illegal to smoke in most public places and indoor work sites. But there are exceptions: hotel rooms and establishments with alcohol, video lottery or gambling licenses.

Bills to remove those exceptions have so far failed to become law, and that's fine by Celebrity customer Ron Osban.

"I'm an adult. It's my choice. It's my right. All these idiots are trying to run around and protect everything. The minority is winning."

That was just the beginning of the Manderson, Wyo., gambler's diatribe against the people trying to take away his freedoms.

Osban came to Deadwood with his wife for the weekend.

"The people that don't smoke, they can go somewhere else," he said.

He smoked as he played the slots and said he someday hopes to quit, just as he has quit drinking. He doesn't want his kids to smoke, and he would still come to Deadwood if he couldn't smoke at the slot machines.

"But it still boils down to, it's our right. We keep taking away our rights," Osban said. "Part of the constitution says the pursuit of happiness. And I'm pursuing my happiness."

Linda Maynard, who works at the Celebrity, isn't happy about people smoking in casinos.

"Being a cashier, they come up and blow it right in my face," she said.

Maynard keeps a miniature fan blowing in her station to circulate the air.

Consideration for the health of workers like Maynard is what has overturned casino-smoking exceptions in several places recently, which is a concern for the businesses as the credit crisis limits the number of people interested in gambling in the first place.

Illinois banned smoking in January, and casinos have seen double-digit drops in revenue, according to the Wall Street Journal. An Atlantic City ban takes effect Oct. 15, and casino operators there also fear losing money.

But that won't deter those concerned for workers' health.

"The health issue is what it's all about," said Jennifer Stalley, government relations director for the American Cancer Society in South Dakota.

Stalley said in the long run, more people would come to Deadwood if it were smoke-free. She described the economic impact as a "short-term blip" in states that have passed smoking bans, and she said the cancer society would try again in the coming Legislative session to remove the casino and bar exception. State law does not cover tribal casinos.

"There's a large number of people employed in the Deadwood gaming industry and in the video lottery, and also in restaurants and bars," Stalley said, "all of whom are being exposed exponentially to secondhand smoke. Patrons, workers, they're not safe. Everyone deserves to breathe clean air when they're earning a living."

Ken Gienger, general manager at the Celebrity where Maynard works, said the health of his workers "is a concern, but I think the employees know that that's one of the things we have to put up with at the current time."

President of the Deadwood Gaming Association, Gienger said the casinos' stance is that they should continue to be exempt from clean air laws.

Patrons "like to smoke inside while they're gambling, have a nice relaxing time," he said.

Several years ago, his casino tried a nonsmoking section, where part of its car museum is today. Slot machines there took in only about half what the average daily take is in Deadwood. It wasn't worth the cost of buying the machines and the annual fees to keep them, so he moved them to a smoking area. Gienger figured Deadwood gamblers like to move around, and even nonsmokers didn't like to be stuck in one room all night.

One room at the First Gold casino at the east end of town is smoke-free, and human resources director Roberta Mullinex said it is now seeing good traffic. Perhaps customers today are growing accustomed to smoke-free businesses elsewhere.

"I've heard just yesterday in a staff meeting that it is getting a lot more business recently," she said. "They had a great couple of months up there."

She said the First Gold customer is typically local and a little older than gamblers who head downtown.

Gienger said the Celebrity does try to limit smoke. Cigars and clove cigarettes are not allowed, ventilation machines are in use, and the doors are left open whenever possible. The casino on a recent Friday night did not seem as smoky as the typical bar or video lottery place.

"I have a lot of people who gamble here who are nonsmokers," Gienger said. "If they're in an area where there's a lot of smoking going on, they will move to another area. We sort of like how it's going on right now."

For every customer who hates the smoke, it seems another one wouldn't come here without it.

JoAnn Pock of Deadwood said she has lung problems but still likes to come to the casinos to have an evening out. She sat at the slot machine closest to the open front door at the Celebrity and played her luck.

"Sometimes, I'd just as soon stay home because of the smoke," she said. "It sure would be nice if they could put an end to it."

About 20 feet away in a smokier section of the casino, Kris Lee of Bellevue, Neb., puffed as she played the Wheel of Fortune slot machine.

She hates smoke in restaurants, but likes it in casinos, and said she probably wouldn't come to Deadwood as often if she couldn't smoke indoors.

"When I'm enjoying myself," Lee said, "that's different."

History of smoke-free workplace efforts in South Dakota

• 2002: Legislature passes first comprehensive clean indoor air law, making most indoor worksites and public places smoke-free. Exceptions included hotel rooms and establishments with an alcoholic beverage, video lottery or gambling license.
• 2003: South Dakota Department of Revenue data shows the new law did not harm revenue at restaurants. Legislature increases state's excise tax on a pack of cigarettes by 20 cents to 53 cents
• 2004-2006: South Dakota Tobacco-Free Kids Network asked Legislature to remove the exemptions on the clean air law and to increase the price of all tobacco products.
• 2006: Citizens approve ballot measure to increase price of cigarettes by $1 per pack.
• 2007: Network again introduces legislation, SB 196, to remove the exemptions on the clean air act. Passed Senate, but failed after a vote to reconsider; failed House Health and Human Services Committee.