During the Memorial Day weekend, a banner plane dragged a message across the skies over Atlantic City, saying: “Smoke-Free AC Casinos = Good for Business.”
The advertisement, courtesy of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANRF), came days before the state lifted all Covid-mandated indoor restrictions, including smoking in casinos. But the message, bolstered by better-than-expected casino revenues in April, was intended to convince Governor Phil Murphy and Senate President Steve Sweeney that the right course of action is to make the smoking ban permanent.
Fat chance.
“It’s an industry that’s struggling quite a bit,” Sweeney told Bloomberg News last month. “The argument before was that you’re going to chase away a percentage of their business, and nobody’s been able to disburse that thought process.”
According to ANRF, the smoke-free first quarter of 2021 produced 11 percent more profits than the same quarter in 2019, before the pandemic began. In April, AC’s total gaming revenues amounted to $352.2 million, a 326.4 increase over April 2020, and iGaming win rose 34.8 percent to $107.7 million. Looking at the first four months of the year, total gaming revenues jumped 61.4 percent to $1.35 billion.
“Atlantic City casinos have been thriving while operating smoke-free,” said Bob Zlotnick, co-founder of Smoke-Free AC. “We’re urging the governor and Senator Sweeney to back this bill to protect the well-being of casino guests and employees. Support for closing the casino loophole in state law is growing in the legislature.”
Supporters include original bill sponsor Senator Shirley Turner and Atlantic County Senator Chris Brown. Turner said, “I’m pleased to have the support of my colleagues in extending the smoking ban to casinos and correcting this omission that increases health risks to casino workers and patrons.”
New Jersey Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle agrees. “As we emerge into a new normal in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, our priorities must be to promote policies in the interest of public health, and that includes restricting smoking in casinos,” Huttle said.
“Over the course of the last year, casinos have successfully adjusted to operations with smoking bans, now is the time to make these changes permanent and ensure a healthier New Jersey moving forward.”
No Exemptions for Casinos
Assemblywoman Shanique Speight (l.) said casinos are public places where people congregate—and smoking should be banned in all public places, without exemption. “Most importantly,” she said, “we must consider the health, safety and comfort of casino workers.”
Still, Sweeney is not expected to rock the apple cart. His office declined comment. So did Murphy’s office. So unless Covid-19 makes a comeback in New Jersey—an outcome no one wants—the restriction is done for. While a growing list of lawmakers have shown support for a smoking ban, for now, they’re outnumbered.
The Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ), for example, speaks for the local industry. Despite the positive results for April, in a statement CANJ said a ban would create long-term financial hardships, not only for the industry but for a whole swath of South Jersey that depends on that industry.
“Going completely nonsmoking would place Atlantic City casinos at a competitive disadvantage with other nearby casinos that allow smoking,” the organization said. “A smoking ban would have a significant adverse effect on Atlantic City, resulting in a decline in customers which would cause job loss and ultimately a decline in tax revenue that benefits the state and local economy, as well as New Jersey seniors and persons with disabilities.”
Anti-smoking organizations are incensed.
“The fate of smoke-free casinos in Atlantic City—and the health of gaming employees and guests—rests on Sweeney’s shoulders,” said Bronson Frick, director of advocacy for AFNR. “Senator Sweeney has the power to push this legislation forward. Governor Murphy should urge him to do so and promise to sign it.”
For anti-smoking organizations, the focus is on indoor smoking; they’re okay (sort of) with outdoor smoking patios, even those with slots or electronic table games. AFNR, for one, has no plan to fight outdoor smoking venues, “as long as people aren’t staffed to work in smoking areas,” Frick said.
Coming Down to Competition
Casinos see this as a competition issue. Across the river, Pennsylvania abides by the same rules as New Jersey, and enacted a smoking ban during Covid-19 that is expected to end soon.
Despite new, more relaxed mask guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the state’s temporary ban “remains in effect since some masking is still recommended,” said Doug Harbach, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).
“The PGCB is monitoring the situation in relation to any additional changes in guidelines that would enable complete relief of mask-wearing and therefore may alter the temporary smoking ban.”
At that point, the gaming board will be out of the picture and casinos may permit smoking on up to 50 percent of the gaming floor. Unless and until the Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act is legally changed, smoking in casinos will be back as soon as 70 percent of Pennsylvania adults are fully vaccinated.
In the meantime, ANRF President and CEO Cynthia Hallett (l.) pointed out that Pennsylvania casinos, like those next-door in New Jersey, are “thriving” and don’t need smoking to succeed. Hallett dismissed “old arguments from some in the industry predicting doom and gloom about how this policy would hurt business.” She said those assumptions “have repeatedly failed to materialize.”
