Atlantic City Casino Smoking Ban May Cost 2 500 Jobs

A renewed push to ban smoking in Atlantic City's casinos could cost up to 2,500 jobs, a new report has warned.
The figures from gambling research firm Spectrum Gaming Group supports casino bosses' fears that eliminating smoking would hurt their business, deprive New Jersey of tax revenue and put thousands of people out of work.
With visits to Atlantic City casinos already at 20-year lows because of the Covid pandemic, hitting the businesses with the ban could slash nearly 11 per cent of casinos' revenue. 
The Casino Association of New Jersey commissioned the report, with its president Joe Lupo saying a ban 'could cause a devastating effect to the community and 뉴헤븐카지노추천 s
br>/p>The report did not recommend whether smoking should be banned, an option that is gaining renewed support in the state Legisl
br>/p>New Jersey's Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, has said he will sign a smoking ban into law if a bill is p
br>/p> A report for the Casino Association of New Jersey says a proposed smoking ban at Atlantic City's casinos could lead to the loss of 2,500 casino jo

br>Pictured: A gambler smoking while playing a slot machine at the Ocean Casino
br>/p>Among other findings, it determined that smokers, who account for 21 per cent of Atlantic City gamblers, are worth more to casinos than non-smokers in that they tend to lose more money and spend more on non-gambling
br>/p>Joe Lupo, president of the casino association and of Atlantic City's Hard Rock casino, said Atlantic City 'faces some very dire issu
br>/p>He said casino employment and visitation to Atlantic City are both at 20-year lows, and in-person gambling revenue has yet to return to pre-COVID levels, down 5 per cent in 2021 compared to
br>/p>'Now is not the time to enact a smoking ban,' he said, adding that doing so 'could cause a devastating effect to the community and s
br>/p> This F

br>10, 2022 photo shows a gambler smoking while playing a slot machine at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City N.J. A report released Feb. 23, 2022 by the Casino Association of New Jersey says a proposed smoking ban at Atlantic City's casinos could lead to the loss of 2,500 casino jobs and 뉴헤븐카지노추천 almost 11% of the casi
r
ueLupo said Atlantic City casino executives are to speak with the governor this week about the
on
s.Smoking is allowed on 25 per cent of the casino floor in Atlantic

r>
The casinos claim that banning it would send smokers fleeing to neighboring Pennsylvania, where many casinos al
sm
g.A group of Atlantic City casino workers, aided by national non-smoking groups, has been pushing for over a year for New Jersey to close the loophole in its public smoking law that allows it to continue in casinos; it is banned in most other in
s
s.They complain of developing respiratory ailments and other harm from breathing second-hand smoke, despite the millions invested by casinos in filters and air purifying
hn
y.Legislation to end casino smoking died in last year's legislative session, but has been reintroduced this year, and has garnered bipartisan support, including from a former governor, Democratic state Sen. Ri
d
y.Atlantic City briefly banned smoking for 헤븐카지노 four weeks in 2008, but dissatisfied with the results, quickly restored it to the current 25 per c

l.

In the first week of the ban, casino winnings declined by 19.5 per cent, according to casino workers union officials a
tate r
ators. tion">The report asserted that between 1,021 to 2,512 jobs could be lost in the first year of a smoking ban in Atla

y.

Spectrum used data from 2019 that found that each casino job was supported by $155,008
amblin
venue.They also interviewed casino executives, workers and customers, and anti-smoking advocacy groups, and studied the experience of other states that have ba
casin
oking.At the high end of its projections, the report says 10 per cent of Atlantic City's casino workforce could lose their jobs i
oking
anned.It also found that with a smoking ban, non-gambling revenue would fall by up to $93 million, or 6.5 per cent, and 뉴헤븐카지노추천 tax revenue would fall
s much as
per cent.The report also acknowledged that some non-smoking patrons would be more likely to visit casinos if smokin

nned.

But the report found that the extra business would not be enough to offset an overall de
e in gamb
revenue.It does not expect every smoker to stop coming to Atlantic City's casinos if smoking is banned. About 13 per cent of smokers would still visit casinos, according to the report, and they also have the
on of gam
g online.But that would hurt the casinos: the report says casinos keep less than 10 per cent of online gambling revenue, with the rest going to online operators, tech par
s and rel
costs.