Similar to A2151 in the Assembly, S264 in the Senate was authored and introduced by Democrats. Senators Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) and Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex) have also fielded GOP support since introducing the measure in mid-January.<\/p>\n
\nWe are doing everything we can to go bipartisan for our casino workers,”<\/strong> Swift explained.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nCasino workers are helping fuel the change of opinion regarding gaming floors continuing to permit up to 25 percent of their space for indoor smoking. CEASE — “Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects” — has been at the forefront of the campaign. Some casino dealers aligned with CEASE say they cringe when a patron smoking a cigarette sits down at their table game.<\/p>\n
“We’re sick and tired of the smoke,” Pete Naccarelli, CEASE spokesperson, said to Casino.org<\/i>.<\/p>\nCasinos Maintain Opposition<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ), the lobbying group that represents the gaming interests in Trenton, continues to oppose legislative efforts to prevent gamblers from smoking indoors.<\/p>\n
Gross gaming revenue for Atlantic City’s nine casinos continues to remain below pre-pandemic numbers. Atlantic City brick-and-mortar casino win totaled $2.55 billion last year. That is 4.9% below the industry’s 2019 land-based total of $2.68 billion.<\/p>\n
Joe Lupo, Hard Rock Atlantic City and CANJ president, says smoke-free casinos in New Jersey would put the resorts at a major competitive disadvantage from casinos in nearby Philadelphia. Pennsylvania casinos can designate up to 50% of their gaming floor for smoking.<\/p>\n
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New Jersey recently afforded Atlantic City casinos substantial tax savings<\/a> by eliminating their iGaming and mobile sports betting revenue from their annual collective property tax assessments. The legislative effort was led by former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who claimed as many as four of the nine casinos would be at risk of closing without such tax breaks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSweeney did not specify which four casinos were in danger of folding, nor provide any insight for the claim prior to his departure from government last month. Sweeney was shockingly upset in the 2021 election by Edward Durr, a Republican truck driver with no political experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian (R) agrees with anti-smoking advocates that casinos should be free of harmful air. Guardian, the lone Republican who has held the title of Atlantic City mayor since 1990, served only a single term after losing reelection in 2017. Guardian became a state lawmaker by way of the General Assembly’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":202021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Former Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian Supports Casino Smoking Ban<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n