ATLANTIC CITY - "Everybody lit up, everybody," says Katie Spillane describing an area of Borgata slots at 12:01 this morning, the minute the smoking ban was lifted.

"The hooray's and ‘yeah it's back’ and the people slinging ash trays for us, it was great," she says.

For more than a month Atlantic City's casino gaming floors were completely smoke free, now it's back to 25 percent can allow smoking.

Gamers like Joseph Jerome say smoking where they play is a huge convenience; he's had 2 knee replacements and has a hard time getting around.

"You don't want to do something extra that takes away form the time on the floor cause you only have a certain amount of time," says Jerome.

But while some were cheering that they no longer had to step outside or go to a lounge for a smoke, for others the end of the ban was no celebration.

"When the people started lighting up I thought I can't do this, I can't do this for another year," says Kim Hesse, a dealer at Caesar’s.

She says she already has a sore throat after one smoke–filled shift, and having a smoke–free work environment like the rest of New Jersey workers for just a month was a tease.

She say, "The state nobody's, doing anything; the city, nobody's doing anything; the casinos, nobody's doing anything. It's our health! I don't understand what the problem is, it should be cut and dry."

But Atlantic City’s City Council has made it clear the issue is not cut and dry.

With casino revenues falling in the slumping economy, they've decided to put off a once approved full smoking ban until further review next year.

They're afraid highly coveted gamers will go to out of state competitors if they can't smoke while they play.

Spillane recalls during the ban, "I had to go to my room, I had to go outside, I had to get up from my machine if it was hot and I didn't want to get up but I wanted a cigarette."

Now, that's not a problem.

Besides the return of smoking, some other news that could factor into Atlantic City casinos' prosperity: today Philadelphia established a Commercial Entertainment District for a casino in Center City, and starting Tuesday tolls on the Atlantic City Expressway go up by 50 to 60 percent.