A bill to ban smoking in casinos was up for a vote before the Pennsylvania House of Representatives last week. But the roll call on an amended version of the bill, known as the Protecting Workers from Secondhand Smoke Act, was yanked from the agenda due to concerns it didn’t have enough votes to pass.
A spokesperson from the office of Rep. Dan Frankel, the bill sponsor, told PlayPennsylvania.com, “We just need to educate folks more, I think. Our guiding star is … to prioritize the health and safety of workers.”
Last September, Frankel introduced the measure, which would eliminate an exemption for casinos built into the state’s 2008 Clean Indoor Air Act. In November, Frankel said the bill could reach Gov. Josh Shapiro for his signature by April.
Clearly, that outcome is now unlikely, as the bill must pass in the House and Senate before advancing to the governor, and each amendment must also be vetted by organizations representing casino employees.
Meanwhile, in neighboring New Jersey, Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union have announced they will file a lawsuit against the state to ban smoking in Atlantic City’s nine casinos.
CEASE NJ, a 3,000-member grassroots organization, contends that smoking violates the state constitution on several grounds. Among the defendants in the suit are New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and acting Health Commissioner Dr. Kaitlan Baston.
On April 4, Atlantic City casino workers gathered in Trenton to protest the casino carveout, which still permits smoking on 25 percent of casino floors in the shore resort.
NJBiz.com quoted Lamont White, a Borgata dealer and CEASE NJ leader, who said, “Usually when we come up here, we’re asking for somebody to listen to us, we’re begging for somebody to have mercy on us, we’re pleading for a little humanity. Not today. … Today, we get off our knees and we stand up.”
Traci Kennedy of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation (ANRF) told PlayPennsylvania the New Jersey lawsuit would have no “immediate impact on PA casino workers who remain exposed to secondhand smoke every day at work.”
She added that one Pennsylvania casino, Parx in suburban Philadelphia, “is thriving and saving money on healthcare premiums while operating smoke-free.”
According to the Associated Press, both states are concerned that a smoking ban could be a handicap as casinos brace for new competition in New York City. Panelists at the East Coast Gaming Congress in Atlantic City last week included Mark Giannantonio, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, who said the city has “a two-year window” to prepare itself for three new Big Apple casinos. “We see New York gaming in general clearly as a threat,” he said.
In a recent note to shareholders, Boyd Gaming said anti-smoking proposals in northeastern states are “the first step toward forcing our company to unilaterally adopt such a policy, regardless of the actions of our competitors.” Boyd added that smoking bans in the midwest and south have already proven detrimental to business.
But Pete Naccarelli, another Borgata dealer and CEASE leader, told the AP, “We risk our lives every day just by going to work. It’s unacceptable, and long past time for casino corporations to end this outdated business practice.”
