Atlantic City Casino Industry Folds on Smoking Discussion at Gaming Conference
The Atlantic City cassino manufacture was localize to send out a cay executive to seem at a roundtable regarding the ongoing permittance of indoor smoking at the upcoming East Coast Gaming United States Congress (ECGC). But that discussion has since been yanked from the group discussion schedule.
Resorts Casino Hotel’s longtime CEO St. Mark Giannantonio originally agreed to discuss casino smoking inward Atlantic City during the ECGC, which runs Sep 21-23 at the Hard Rock. But after the gaming veteran soldier was prescribed to head the Casino Association of New island of Jersey (CANJ), Giannantonio informed the group discussion that the baccy conversation would no longer be happening.
Giannantonio instead spoke straight to the media. He conveyed that the casinos have got been steadfast inwards their view that eliminating smoking so shortly after the pandemic would greatly threaten the economical wellness of the niner resorts.
A CANJ-commissioned work on the issuance backed that. It concluded that one-year gaming revenue mightiness dip 25% should cigarettes no more yearner follow tolerated privileged the casinos, and as many as 2,500 jobs would live in jeopardy.
Debate Ensues in Media
Giannantonio replaced former Hard John Rock Atlantic Ocean City CEO Joe Lupo as head of the Atlantic Ocean City swap group. Lupo has in agreement(p) to caput up Hard Rock’s forthcoming gambling casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Lupo also opposed finish indoor smoking, and caused a fleck of controversy earlier this twelvemonth when he said he doesn’t trust “30 people walking down pat(p) the Boardwalk” protesting indoor smoking “represents the 21,000 employees employed inwards the casinos.”
Giannantonio says that patch the smoking conversation mightiness live warranted inward the future, such a find change at present would not follow in the industry’s best interest.
The Casino Association of New Jersey has been real transparent inwards its view that an immediate smoking forbidding would have got a substantial contrary effect on Atlantic City,” Giannantonio this calendar week told the Associated Press. “We trust that to a greater extent time is required to devise and implement a resolution that testament turn to the concerns of our employees without jeopardizing jobs.”
Cynthia Hallett, chair and CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, scolded the industry’s no-show.
“It’s remarkably notification that Atlantic Ocean City casinos couldn’t regain single someone to in public fend for their posture inwards favor of indoor smoking,” Hallett commented. “They experience that they cannot win on the facts — even their economic arguments experience been soundly rebutted — so they are avoiding a public discussion.
“We are disappointed that this conversation testament follow missing from the formal conference program, but breathe assured: the front of gambling casino workers who have got been fighting for their health will be felt next week,” Hallett said.
CEASE — Casino Employees Against Smoking’s (Harmful) Effects — has been organizing casino smoking protests since smoking was allowed to coming back to the Atlantic City resorts inwards July 2021.
Legislation Lingers
Two monovular bills have stalled in the Trenton capital.that would secretive the cassino smoking loophole. The clause was afforded to the gaming properties through the state’s 2006 Smoke-Free Air Air Act.
Senate Bill 264 and Assembly Bill 2151 have got tolerant bipartisan support. Enough commonwealth lawmakers make lent their funding to the measures to direct such legislation to New island of Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D).
Murphy favors making the casinos tour smoke-free. But the bills haven’t been set up for a ballot in either legislative chamber.
Democratic leaders are reportedly hesitating to make a motion forward with the legislative exertion because the leading gambling casino join inward townspeople — Unite Here Local 54 — has joined the gambling casino industry inward opposing such a exchange on fears that jobs could be lost.