CEASE Co-Founder Calls for End to ‘Outdated’ Smoking Laws in Atlantic City Casinos

• Casino workers demand a permanent smoking ban in AC
• Some casinos in neighboring states are now smoke-free
• Indoor smoking harms revenue, patrons, and employee health

“If Atlantic City casino executives are serious about turning their revenue around, the solution is simple: end the outdated practice of indoor smoking.”  That’s the message from Pete Naccarelli, a longtime Atlantic City casino worker and co-founder of Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE), which believes that casino bosses are out of touch with the public when it comes to smoking indoors.

Few issues have generated as much feedback from Casino.org readers as that of smoking in Atlantic City casinos. You’ve left comments by the dozens, and the consensus appears to be that Atlantic City needs to kick its tobacco habit.

Naccarelli believes that a recent dip in the city’s casino revenues could be driven in part by smoking at its resorts.

“It comes as no surprise to casino workers that in-person gaming revenue has gone down. We see day-in and day-out what casino executives don’t — that no one, whether a worker or a patron, wants to be exposed to secondhand smoke at casinos,” Naccarelli told Casino.org.

“Indoor smoking makes gaming floors an unbearable environment for everyone: patrons and workers are surrounded by an awful smell and the constant sound of coughing, not to mention the drastic health effects that last long after they leave the facility,” he added.

Noisy Neighbors

Casino operators and their lobbyists tend to argue that banning smoking could drive customers to casinos in nearby states where smoking is allowed. But is that still the case? From the small but forthright sample size of Casino.org readers who have expressed their views, it seems the opposite could be true.

Some Pennsylvania casinos have voluntarily implemented smoke-free policies, including Parx Casino in Bucks County, Mount Airy Casino Resort, and Rivers Casino Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the MGM National Harbor in Maryland is also a smoke-free resort, as is Foxwoods in Connecticut.

“AC casinos are pathetic. As soon as you walk in, they stink like an ashtray. When will the executives realize most people don’t smoke and don’t want to be exposed to a toxic environment?” writes one reader, Joseph. “I enjoy Parx in Pennsylvania and being able to breathe.”

Another reader, Nate, writes: “Atlantic City is a toxic dump of cigarettes. I wear a K95 mask to get around. There’s smokers at entrances, on the floor. Go see MGM Maryland they are smoke free and PRINTING money. They have high end clients who dress up. Why would anyone bring their high-class girl to a toxic cigarette smoking dump unless they were both chain smokers. END cigarettes get with the times!!”

​All Smoke and No Fire

Atlantic City briefly implemented a smoking ban in its casinos in 2008, but quickly repealed it after the casinos experienced a nearly 20% drop in revenue within two weeks.

There was another hiatus during COVID when New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) issued an executive order suspending smoking in casinos as part of broader public health measures. That restriction was lifted on July 4, 2021.

Currently, smoking is permitted on 25% of the casino floor. Casinos were specifically exempted from New Jersey’s 2006 law that banned smoking in virtually all other workplaces.

Efforts by lawmakers and campaign groups like CEASE to implement a full smoking ban in Atlantic City casinos are ongoing.