Workers in Atlantic City casino smoking lawsuit decry 'poisonous' workplace; state stresses taxes
A group of Atlantic City casino workers has asked a judge to ban smoking in the gambling halls, citing the toxic effects of working there
TRENTON, N.J. — A group of Atlantic City casino workers asked a judge Monday to ban smoking in the gambling halls, citing the toxic effects of working in a “poisonous” atmosphere, while the state said ending smoking could jeopardize a half-billion-dollar pot of money for senior citizens and the disabled.
Superior Court Judge Patrick Bartels did not issue a ruling after both sides presented their case but said he aims to do so “as quickly as possible.”
A ruling banning smoking in the nine casinos would be a seismic event for the city's gambling industry, whose core business — money won from in-person gamblers — still has not returned to where it was before the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
But it would be an equally impactful change for workers who say they are sick of having to breathe other people's smoke in order to make a living, and who cite illnesses they attribute to secondhand smoke, including bronchitis, asthma and other respiratory ailments, including several cases of cancer.
Whether to ban smoking is one of the most controversial issues not only in Atlantic City casinos, but in other states where workers have expressed concern about secondhand smoke. They are waging similar campaigns in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Virginia.
Currently, smoking is allowed on 25% of the casino floor in Atlantic City. But those areas are not contiguous, and the practical effect is that secondhand smoke is present in varying degrees throughout the casino floor.
A lawsuit filed last month by the United Auto Workers, which represents dealers at the Bally’s, Caesars and Tropicana casinos,
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