They are also looking for improved ventilation systems inside casinos. Opponents of the current bill are holding out for amendments that will allow for separate, enclosed smoking rooms.

“If we can’t get this bill passed in the Senate health committee-a smoking bill? … We’re still here begging for our lives? It’s a disgrace.” “Enough is enough,” said Patrick Ashton, a representative for the United Auto Workers, a union representing casino dealers. Plans for a resolutionĪlthough there is optimism for an agreement in the future, those in attendance were not pleased to find out the vote had been stalled. If it doesn’t, Senators will have to restart the process when the next legislative session begins. Vitale still believes the vote will pass before the January 9 cut-off. He said that he was open to alternatives proposed by the casinos. Fred Madden (D-Gloucester) reneged on his support for the bill hours before the vote was scheduled. That’s despite more than half of state lawmakers co-sponsoring the bill. Committee Chairman Joe Vitale, a Democrat from Middlesex, said he was one vote short of advancing the bill to the Senate. The bill is currently stuck in the Senate Health Committee. More than half of state lawmakers co-sponsoring the bill “We have to endure hours on the job with secondhand smoke in our faces without the ability to turn away,” said Nicole Vitola, who also works as a dealer at the Borgata. “It’s incredible that we’re here begging again to have the same thing everyone else has,” said Lamont White, a dealer at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. That comes in spite of the controversial lack of smoking prohibitions inside gambling floors, a standard many other casinos nationwide have in place. The popular tourist destination reported over $4bn in yearly revenue at the end of October and is on pace to eclipse $5bn by the end of the year. A rug pullĬurrent New Jersey law prohibits smoking in public businesses everywhere except for Atlantic City, where smoking can be allowed on 25% of a casino floor. The Democrats said they would be willing to listen to alternatives proposed by the casino industry in the meantime until a vote can be taken for the current bill. This is yet another turn in a saga that has been going on for years. Instead, the vote, which was going to happen in front of many casino workers and anti-smoking lobbyists, was delayed because Democratic lawmakers revealed they didn’t have enough internal support to advance the proposal. Thursday was supposed to be the day a bill to end smoking in Atlantic City casinos received its first round of votes in the state Congress.

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