Atlantic City Casino Workers Hope New Jersey’s Next Gov. Will Clear the Air
Posted on: June 12, 2025, 10:09h.
Last updated on: June 12, 2025, 10:16h.
- New Jersey will elect its next governor in November
- Mikie Sherrill is the Democratic nominee, while Jack Ciattarelli is on the Republican ticket
- Neither candidate explicitly supports an Atlantic City casino smoking ban
Atlantic City casino workers wishing for a workplace free of secondhand smoke have their hopes set that New Jersey’s next governor will fight harder to eliminate the indoor smoking loophole for gaming venues.
On Tuesday, US Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and former New Jersey Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Hunterdon) won their respective Democratic and Republican primaries.
Sherrill bested her five challengers with 33.9% of the Democratic vote. Ciattarelli topped his four rivals with 67.9% of the GOP ballots.
Neither candidate explicitly expressed support for fully eliminating casino smoking in Atlantic City during their primary debates and campaigns. CEASE — Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects — hopes those positions will change to favor an outright smoking ban in Atlantic City casinos once elected.
“In the leadup to the election, we were encouraged by the number of candidates who stepped up to support smoke-free casinos and committed to protecting our health. We hope that as they continue their campaigns for New Jersey governor, Rep. Sherrill and former Assemblyman Ciattarelli will join the long list of candidates who have added smoke-free casinos to their campaign platforms and pledged to close the casino smoking loophole once they enter office,” said Pete Naccarelli, co-founder of CEASE and a longtime table game dealer at Borgata.
“Voters support a smoke-free bill — and so should their elected officials,” Naccarelli added.
Over the years, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said repeatedly he would sign legislation to end casino smoking. But he also continually said he couldn’t single-handedly change the state’s smoking law without the Legislature.
Anti-smoking advocates said Murphy, a Democrat, didn’t do enough to push the Democratic-controlled Assembly and Senate to send him a casino smoking ban.
Gubernatorial Candidates Uncommitted
Sherrill, who will likely be the polling and betting favorite for the Nov. 5, 2025, New Jersey gubernatorial election, as Garden State voters haven’t elected a Republican governor since Chris Christie in 2013, danced around the Atlantic City casino smoking issue during an interview with Politico.
I know there is ongoing work being done on compromise legislation, and I want to see a proposal that prioritizes employees’ health and also keeps good-paying jobs here in Atlantic City. We need to make sure Atlantic City’s tourism industry remains competitive — and their economy more vibrant — so I am committed to finding common ground to support these workers at a time when we know everyone is struggling to get by,” Sherrill said.
During his Politico interview, Ciattarelli said he thinks the casino smoking dilemma “should be left up to the employers and the unions.”
At the end of the day, if there are people who don’t want to work in the smoking sections, it’s at that point in time the casinos will have to address it,” Ciattarelli said.
New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act of 2006 bans indoor smoking in most workplaces and public settings. But the law came with carveouts for casino gaming areas and simulcasting facilities.
Atlantic City casinos that have a minimum of 150 slot machines, 10 table games, or some combination thereof can designate 25% of their gaming area for tobacco use. The law does not come with any ventilation requirements.
Atlantic City Worries
Casino executives and Unite Here Local 54, the union that represents thousands of Atlantic City resort workers in nongaming roles, oppose the elimination of indoor smoking on claims that it would reduce play and lead to job layoffs. The nine casinos saw in-person gross gaming revenue slow last year by 1.1%.
State officials in New York are expected to award three downstate casino concessions by the end of the year. With MGM Resorts’ Empire City and Genting’s Resorts World New York City, currently both video lottery racinos, front-runners for two of the licenses, the operation of full-scale casinos with slots, live-dealer table games, and sports betting could come to the NYC metro in less than two years.
No comments yet