Secondhand smoke suit dismissed

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NEW ORLEANS, July 17 (UPI) -- A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against a Louisiana casino for allegedly failing to protect employees from secondhand smoke.

The suit, filed by Denise Bevrotte, alleges Caesar's Entertainment Corp. of Las Vegas failed to protect employees of its Harrah's New Orleans hotel and casino from secondhand smoke, resulting in her son's death.

It says her son, Maceo Bevrotte Jr., contracted leukemia as a result of working at Harrah's for 15 years, where he was regularly exposed to secondhand smoke. The Las Vegas Sun reported he died of the disease in 2010.

U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance dismissed the suit on technical grounds, saying Bevrotte needed to file a claim with Worker's Compensation because her suit contends leukemia was an occupational disease in her son's case.

A similar suit, filed in 2009, is pending in federal court in Las Vegas. Dealer and union activist Kanie Kastroll filed suit against the Wynn Las Vegas for failing to protect employees from cigarette and cigar smoke, forcing the "ingestion of cancer-causing chemicals and toxins."

Kastroll's suit is seeking class-action status, however the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act exempts non-restricted gaming licenses from smoking restrictions imposed on other workplaces.