Casino workers, and some in the ventilation industry, say no technology can completely rid the air of harmful substances from cigarette and cigar smoke. But a total smoking ban “would eliminate thousands of lucrative jobs and probably lead to the closure of one casino” as customers forsake Atlantic City for other jurisdictions that allow smoking.ĭeCaprio said she favors a compromise in which smoking would continue to be allowed on 25% of the casino floor, and casinos would be required to install the latest ventilation and air treatment technology.
“We support and defend a worker’s right to work in a safe environment,” she said. Like McDevitt, DeCaprio says a smoking ban as currently proposed “would be a suicide pact” given the proximity of casinos in Pennsylvania that allow smoking. Our Atlantic City suites and rooms are spacious, well-appointed, and comfortable world-class accommodations and amenities. But the measure has yet to receive even a preliminary vote in Senate or Assembly committees, and no vote has been scheduled. More than half the state Legislature has signed on to a bill that would ban smoking, and Gov. Currently, it’s allowed on 25% of the casino floor, but a group of casino workers is pushing for a full ban. One big issue she’ll soon have to deal with is whether New Jersey should ban smoking in the casinos.