Atlantic City Gaming Leaders Voice Concerns, as Smoking Opponents File Lawsuit
Posted on: April 5, 2024, 11:35h.
Last updated on: April 5, 2024, 12:36h.
Two of the more powerful people in Atlantic City, Unite Here Local 54 President Donna DeCaprio and Mark Giannantonio, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, have grave concerns about the city’s casino market.
Atlantic City’s brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue (GGR) in January and February was below the same months in 2023. Resort traffic also dwindled during the first two months of the year.
DeCaprio and Giannantonio are using the poor start to elevate their position that state lawmakers in Trenton shouldn’t pass legislation that might further dampen the city’s economic outlook. Specifically, lawmakers are weighing a change to the 2006 New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act that allows the nine casinos down the shore to designate up to 25% of their gaming floor space for indoor tobacco consumption.
With in-person visitation and gaming revenue possibly slowing in Atlantic City, Giannantonio reasons now isn’t the time to enact a smoking ban.
This is not the time to enact laws, such as a full smoking ban, that will further erode customer visitation and revenues to our properties,” Giannantonio told the Press of Atlantic City.
“It is time for the City of Atlantic City and the State of New Jersey, in its oversight capacity over the city, to address the issues that are preventing economic growth and develop solutions that will increase visitation to Atlantic City,” added Giannantonio, who also heads up Resorts.
Workers File Lawsuit
CEASE, Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects, filed a lawsuit in New Jersey’s Superior Court on Friday. The lawsuit names Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and the state’s Health Commissioner Kaitlan Baston as defendants.
The litigation alleges that the state’s 2006 smoking law that includes carveouts for casinos wrongly jeopardizes the health of casino workers for the benefit of casino owners. The lawsuit asks the court to strike out the casino smoking loophole.
Legislation last year appeared to have the necessary support in the New Jersey Legislature to force the casinos to go smoke-free. But some lawmakers flip-flopped their positions after hearing from the casino lobby, which Giannantonio leads, that such a ban would devastate the Atlantic City gaming industry.
It’s disgusting to sacrifice workers’ health because of some backroom politics where they don’t even have to explain themselves,” CEASE attorney Nancy Smith told The New York Times.
CEASE began as a grassroots coalition in Atlantic City. The organization has since expanded with chapters in other states where casino smoking remains, including Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Kansas, and Virginia.
Ban Could Cost Jobs
DeCaprio represents about 10K Atlantic City casino workers, but those union members don’t include table game dealers and slot attendants.
However, many Unite Here employees work on the casino floors where smoke lingers. The union represents housekeepers, bartenders, waiters, cooks, bellmen, doormen, and other service jobs.
DeCaprio shares Giannantonio’s position that a smoking ban would damage casino revenue and lead to job cuts.
“As lawmakers continue to proceed with the annual state budget process, representatives in the New Jersey Legislature must understand the perilous economic situation at hand for my members, and indeed all workers in Atlantic City,” DeCaprio said. “Not only is the overall in-person revenue troubling — but the size of the declines at some of the individual properties portends some serious instability for thousands of workers. The legislators need to take this into consideration as they consider policies that could compound the downward trends.”
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Last Comments ( 6 )
With all due respect, Mr. Giannantonio and Ms. DeCaprio..there's never a wrong time to do the right thing. It just so happens Parx Casino in PA, as well as MD, Delaware and NY and CT all have smokeFREE casinos and smokers go outside, as they should. It's a serious health safety issue and all you can say is that its not the right time?? Maybe if you saw it would be a win-win for everyone to market smokefree casinos instead of thinking with your head in the sand all the time, you can see record profits like Parx has with no smoking. Same old tired erroneous rhetoric from CANJ and Chamber SNJ and Local 54 who just put greed and tobacco ahead of the health and welfare of the thousands of front line casino workers who risk their lives everyday for the casinos. great job by CEASE and UAW....who care about saving lives. The beaches and public parks in NJ are smokefree outdoors...so should the casinos in ac be smokefree indoors!!
Mohgean Sun CT voted one of the best casinos, has been doing very well and is 100% smokefree. These crybabies like UniteHere Local 54 Donna Decaprio and CANJ are clueless with their scare tactics of the sky is falling when anyone with half a brain knows only 10% smoke and during covid when AC casinos were smokefree nobody had any issues smoking outdoors. Again, 31 other states are 100% smokefree, including NY< DELAWARE and MARYLAND. NJ is wayyy behind the times and fools like local 54 and mayor small and canj are just giving out misinformation to line the pocket$$ of the tobacco industry.
Worst argument in the world Mike. So did every other restaurant airline bar employee and every workplace in nj that had Smokefree workplaces knew they had smoking prior to the Smokefree air act of 2006 which excluded used only casinos. Try again. 31 states have Smokefree casinos. Nj is living in the dark ages.
When the clean air act went into law, it should have included EVERYONE. Local 54 is ignoring their non smoking members. Shame on you Donna Dicaprio and Local 54.
There are casinos operating in a smoke free environment and they are doing quite well financially. Parx casino in Pennsylvania and the Fantasy Springs Casino in California are doing just fine. Canadaian casinos are all smoke free.
All casino workers in Atlantic City knew smoking in their workplace was allowed when they chose to apply for the job.