ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A judge on Friday allowed smoking to continue in Atlantic City’s casinos, giving some measure of relief to the city's struggling casino industry while rebuffing workers who have long sought to be able to breathe clean air on the casino floor.
The ruling by Superior Court Judge Patrick Bartels represented a major victory for the city's nine casinos, most of which are winning less money from in-person gamblers than they did before the COVID19 pandemic hit. But it was a big a setback for workers who have been trying for four years to ban smoking in their workplaces, first by trying to get lawmakers to change the law, then by filing a lawsuit. A lawyer for the workers said she will ask the state Supreme Court to consider the case on an expedited basis.
The casinos had warned that thousands of jobs and millions in gambling revenue and taxes could be lost if smoking was banned. “We are gratified by the court’s decision to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint and deny its attempt to change the Smoke-Free Air Act outside of the legislative process," said Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts Casino and of the Casino Association of New Jersey. He said the industry, the city and the main casino workers union, Local 54 of Unite Here “have taken significant steps over the years to create a healthier environment for employees and patrons, including limiting smoking to just a fraction of the floorspace.
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