More than 300 employees at Caesars Southern Indiana Casino in Elizabeth have signed a petition demanding that smoking be banned in the casino or a designated smoking area be created. The petition was delivered to management.
Bartender Jason Brumfield said, “We know a lot of guests like to smoke, but right now, it’s a very critical time for health. And when you’re smoking in there, you have your mask down, and there’s a lot of people that chain smoke.” Housekeeper Jackie Gibson, who cleans the floor area, including guests’ ashtrays. She said she’s not comfortable being so close to those not wearing a mask. “As long as they’re smoking at the machines, they take their masks off. When you got the mask off, we don’t feel safe. We have to have close contact with them. This stuff is deadly. It’s not something to play with,” Gibson said.
The guidelines previously released by Caesars Southern Indiana when it reopened June 15 state “smoking at table games will not be permitted.” However, it does not mention any other locations.
Earlier, employees protested the rule that they were required to wear face masks but guests only were “strongly encouraged” to do so. Slot Attendant Anjila Gaudet said, “That hit us wrong. We thought if it’s important for us to wear masks, then why wouldn’t it be important for them to wear masks for all the rest of us?”
Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts have since changed the rules and announced guests in all of its properties now are required to wear face coverings at all times unless they’re eating and drinking.
Gaudet said frequently guests would have a drink or a cigarette on the floor near the slot machines so they won’t have to wear a mask. She said employees asked the guests “very often” to put on their masks. However, they felt that could affect tips. “It’s not uncommon for guests to get really frustrated with us when we ask. We’ve had a death on the property from coronavirus already. For us, it hit us hard, especially hard. We know what can happen if we don’t wear a mask. I don’t understand why we who already know the consequences wouldn’t abide by that,” Gaudet said.
Brumfield said security personnel ask visitors to wear masks, and frequent announcements let the guests know face coverings are mandatory. However, he noted, in a huge venue like Caesars Southern Indiana, enforcing the policy is a challenge.
Several employees are concerned if case numbers spike or a second wave of Covid-19 hits the area, Caesars Southern Indiana would have to shut down again, causing financial hardship. Gaudet added, “Chances are if we’re sick, we’ll be at work and we won’t be getting the health care we need because we can’t afford to. It’s all-around a situation that’s not good for all of us. I just feel like people are seeing workers as commodities and that hits me real hard. We’re workers. We’re people. We should be able to work a 40-hour work week and be safe and come home to our families and not have to worry if something’s going to happen to us.”
