That was a surprise to the coalition, which represents about 45 nonprofit and advocacy groups and is funded in part by the American Lung Association and American Heart Association.

The Nevada Resort Association represents major casino resorts, which the coalition contends would not be affected by the petition because it still allows smoking in gaming areas where children aren't allowed.

But the resort association, whose members have long bristled at any whiff of a smoking ban, found two major problems with the petition and put its support behind a competing petition that surfaced this month.

If the petitions gather enough signatures they will transfer to the Legislature, which will have 40 days to enact legislation. If they fail to act, the petitions would be put to a general vote in 2006.

Specifically, the tobacco prevention coalition's petition prohibits smoking in "government buildings and public places" with public places defined as "any enclosed areas to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted."

Resort Association President Bill Bible said that definition could be construed to include the hotel rooms of a casino. The consequences, though unintended, of banning smoking in rooms could mean less revenue for resorts, lost gaming revenue and therefore less tax money for the state, he said.

Secondly, a separate provision allows local governments to adopt their own measures that meet or exceed the minimum smoking restrictions. Currently, the power to enact smoking rules lies entirely with the Legislature. Bible and other supporters say acceding control to local officials could lead to a patchwork of regulations statewide and an uneven playing field for operators of the same types of businesses. At worst, local control could lead to an eventual ban on smoking in casinos, Bible said.

Kendall Stagg, policy director of the Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition, calls both responses "ludicrous."

"That's a red herring," he said. Local officials aren't going to enact such draconian anti-smoking laws on their own, he said. The petition also doesn't say anything about hotel rooms being part of the ban, he added.

The casino-supported petition, called "Responsibly Protect Nevadans from Second-Hand Smoke Act," for the most part lets existing smoking rules stand. Casinos as well as groceries, convenience stores, bars and taverns with gaming can allow smoking. Restaurants can also allow smoking in areas that are restricted to youth under 21. Under current law, restaurants with more than 50 seats can offer smoking but must also have nonsmoking areas. The gaming-supported petition also adds other public places to the list of smoke-free areas on the coalition's petition including theaters, concert halls, museums, libraries and public galleries.

While both petitions also exclude bars and taverns from the ban, their wording differs widely. The gaming-supported petition defines bars as businesses "other than restaurants" that have a liquor license. The coalition's measure defines them as businesses that primarily serve alcohol and don't serve prepared food.

Stagg said the gaming-supported petition uses "classic bait and switch" to lure voters into thinking they are voting for a ban on smoking in places where it may now be allowed such as restaurants, convenience stores and groceries.

"They put 'restaurants' very first on their list (of smoke-free areas) because they know that's something that's incredibly popular with the public," he said. "But when you read further down you realize that's not what you get." The opposing petition also goes against popular support for smoking bans in grocery stores and convenience stores, which children frequent, he said.

Lee Haney, a lobbyist for the Protect Nevadans act, said the one-page petition is clearly worded. She accuses the coalition of its own subversion in relation to the smoking ban on bars and taverns.

Recent polling shows a majority of voters would uphold smoking rights in casinos, bars and taverns, she said. But the coalition-supported petition would suddenly ban smoking in many taverns that also serve food, such as the PT's Pub chain, she said.

The coalition is unapologetic about the bans. Smoke doesn't stop spreading when it reaches a nonsmoking area of a restaurant or tavern, Stagg said. The high-tech ventilation systems that businesses have adopted in recent years aren't fully removing toxins, he added.

Banning smoking across such businesses "creates an even playing field" among competitors, Stagg said. In order for a bar to comply with the ban it would have to fully enclose its smoking area and make it separate from its nonsmoking restaurant, he said.

Legislation enacted in 2000 requires new grocery stores to build alcoves and ventilation systems for smoking areas while existing grocery stores will have at least three years to comply. Haney said those rules will still stand if her petition takes effect, but Stagg said they would instead be gutted under that petition.

Another point of contention is the argument that smoking bans would hurt revenue. After all, many gamblers also are smokers, gaming representatives say.

"Our economy is dependent on tourism," Haney said. "We can't afford to take measures that would harm our economy."

"The approach that the anti-tobacco coalition is taking is too draconian," added Peter Krueger, director of the Nevada Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association. "Customers already vote with their feet. If someone is truly offended or for whatever reason doesn't want to visit a place with smoking they'll go elsewhere.

"With the price of fuel we're not making any money on fuel and we have to rely on profit centers like gaming," Krueger said. Most people who come into convenience stores aren't kids but adults who are buying gas, he added.

Still, gaming allies say they're not aware of any studies proving that revenue would decline with a smoking ban. They also claim ignorance of a growing body of evidence from "no smoking" states such as New York and California that show an increase in tax revenue and business licenses post smoking bans -- a sign that there may be no correlation or a positive correlation between the two.

In Nevada, hundreds of restaurants have recently begun advertising their smoke-free status with the help of government funds, while three casinos in Reno have opened large nonsmoking areas above and beyond the smoke-free tables offered at typical Strip casinos. Poker rooms also are increasingly going smokeless in response to players who don't drink or smoke in order to concentrate on high-stakes plays.

"This is an issue whose time has really come," Stagg said. "The public more and more is demanding smoke-free places and we are going to fight like hell to get this passed in the Legislature. We are not going away."

The Tobacco Prevention Coalition faces an uphill battle. It's less connected and less well funded than its gaming counterparts, which have successfully snuffed out several anti-smoking bills over the past several years.

But it does have the support of members like the Clark County Health District, which is charged with protecting public health rather than maintaining company profit.

Then again, Nevada isn't like other places. It's the only state with truly wide-open gambling and has a culture built on accommodating desires that other places shun.

"Gambling, drinking and smoking seem to fit together," said Anthony Curtis, a non-smoker who publishes the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter for gamblers. "You've got a situation now where (smokers and non-smokers) coexist ... and that's probably not going to change," Curtis said.

Liz Benston covers gaming for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4077 or by e-mail at benston@lasvegassun.com