New Jersey and union ask judge to dismiss anti-smoking lawsuit targeting Atlantic City casinos

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City's main casino workers union and the New Jersey attorney general on Monday asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a different union that seeks to ban smoking at the city's nine casinos.

Local 54 of the Unite Here union said in a filing in state Superior Court that a third of the 10,000 workers it represents would be at risk of losing their jobs and the means to support their families if smoking were banned.

Currently, smoking is allowed on 25% of the casino floor. But those areas are not contiguous, and the practical effect is that secondhand smoke is present in varying degrees throughout the casino floor.

A lawsuit brought earlier this month by the United Auto Workers, which represents dealers at the Bally’s, Caesars and Tropicana casinos, seeks to overturn New Jersey's indoor smoking law, which bans it in virtually every workplace except casinos.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, representing Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and the state health department, said the state's indoor smoking law does not deny any group of people equal protection under the law “and does not infringe on any purported constitutional right to safety,” urging the court to dismiss it.

Nancy Erika Smith, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit, reacted incredulously to the request by Local 54.

“I have never seen a union fight against the health and safety of their members, not once," she said. “Luckily, Unite's economic arguments, while false, have absolutely no relevance to the constitutional question at hand.”

Donna DeCaprio is president of Local 54, which represents hotel workers, beverage servers, baggage handlers, public area cleaners and other workers at the nine casinos.

“We support the health and safety of our members, and believe that improvements to the current work environment must be made,” she said Monday. “A balance needs to be reached that will both protect worker health and preserve good jobs.”

DeCaprio said a total smoking ban would be “catastrophic” for Atlantic City, adding that between 50 to 72% of all gambling revenue won from in-person gamblers comes from smoking sections.

The union endorses legislation introduced earlier this year that would keep the current 25% limit of the casino floor on which smoking can occur.

But it would allow smoking in unenclosed areas of the casino floor that contain slot machines and are designated as smoking areas that are more than 15 feet away from table games staffed by live dealers. It also would allow the casinos to offer smoking in enclosed, separately ventilated smoking rooms with the proviso that no worker can be assigned to work in such a room against their will.

Whether to ban smoking is one of the most controversial issues not only in Atlantic City casinos, but in other states where workers have expressed concern about secondhand smoke. They are waging similar campaigns in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Virginia.

“A total smoking ban would place thousands of jobs at risk, endangering the wages, health and welfare benefits and retirement benefits of Local 54 members and their families,” the union wrote in its court filing.

It noted that in 2008, when Atlantic City's City Council imposed a short-lived total smoking ban, casino revenues fell by 19.8%, within the first week, leading to the enactment of the current 25% smoking area on the casino floors.

These workers, including many table games dealers, say that going smoke-free would actually attract enough customers to more than offset the loss of smokers who go elsewhere.

Nicole Vitola, a Borgata dealer and one of the leaders of the anti-smoking push, accused Local 54 of being the same as casino management.

“Instead of fighting for the health and safety of workers, Local 54 is battling in a court of law to allow casinos to keep poisoning their members with toxic secondhand smoke,” she said.

Follow Wayne Parry on X, formerly Twitter, at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC

Casino workers in favor of banning smoking in Atlantic City demonstrate outside a courthouse in Trenton, N.J. On Monday, April 29, 2024, Atlantic City's main casino workers union asked a judge to let it intervene in that lawsuit. (AP Photo/Wayne

A gambler lights a cigarette at a slot machine in Harrah's casino in Atlantic City N.J., on Sept. 29, 2023. On Monday, April 29, 2024, Atlantic City's main casino workers union asked a judge to let it intervene in that lawsuit. (AP Photo/Wayne

Nancy Erika Smith, the lawyer for Atlantic City casino workers seeking to end smoking in the gambling halls speaks outside a courthouse in Trenton, N.J., on April 5, 2024, after filing a lawsuit seeking to force a smoking ban. On Monday, April 29, 2024, Atlantic City's main casino workers union asked a judge to let it intervene in that lawsuit. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Casino workers in favor of banning smoking in Atlantic City demonstrate outside a courthouse in Trenton, N.J. On Monday, April 29, 2024, Atlantic City's main casino workers union asked a judge to let it intervene in that lawsuit. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Casino workers in favor of banning smoking in Atlantic City demonstrate outside a courthouse in Trenton, N.J., April 5, 2024, after filing a lawsuit seeking to force a smoking ban. On Monday, April 29, 2024, Atlantic City's main casino workers union asked a judge to let it intervene in that lawsuit. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

CLEMSON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2024--

Fountain Residential Partners would like to announce a partnership between Dockside Clemson and Tap-In: Putts & Brews. Tap-In: Putts & Brews, a new entertainment venue featuring golf & multi-sport simulator bays with self-pour drink taps, will be coming to Dockside at Clemson in 2024.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240516813269/en/

With over 4,000 square feet at Dockside, Tap-In: Putts & Brews will feature 4 interactive golf and sport simulator bays with leading technology by Full Swing. Simulator bays will include over 130 golf courses and exclusive PGA tour courses, reactive and immediate swing analysis, and multi-sport modes that include football, baseball, soccer, hockey, and carnival-style games. In addition, Tap-In: Putts & Brews will also feature self-pour beer and wine taps by PourMyBeer, an indoor putting green, bar snacks, and social spaces for games and weekly events for the community.

“We are thrilled to announce the coming of Tap-In: Putts & Brews to Dockside at Clemson! To be able to offer this new entertainment experience to Clemson and the surrounding communities has been a dream in the making for several years. It has been my vision that Tap-In: Putts & Brews would not only be a golf and entertainment venue, but also a place where social connections and memories can be made. Whether its gathering with friends for fun on a simulator, enjoying a night out as a family, competing in our weekly game nights, leveling up your golf game, celebrating birthdays, or anything in between, I can’t wait to see how Tap-In can become the new favorite local destination!” - Alec Hrynda, CEO & Founder of Tap-In: Putts & Brews.

ABOUT TAP IN: PUTTS & BREWS

Tap-In: Putts & Brews is a new entertainment venue that was created in Upstate, South Carolina by Clemson graduate, Alec C. Hrynda and company. Tap-In: Putts and Brews seeks to enhance the surrounding communities by providing a new entertainment option for every person and age, giving guests the ultimate golf and indoor sports entertainment venue that combines the best comprehensive simulator technology with the growing popularity of self-pour beer and tap technology. In addition to entertainment and drink technology, Tap-In: Putts and Brews provides weekly social events for all ages, private event space opportunities, party hosting options, and social gathering spaces and activities for groups to enjoy.

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Dockside Clemson offers studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom fully furnished apartment units with bed-to-bath parity, alongside 22,164 square feet of ground floor retail. Communal amenities include a fitness center, swimming pool, tech study spaces and dock access on Lake Hartwell. Dockside Clemson was developed by Fountain Residential Partners, LLC, a privately held Dallas-based multifamily real estate development, acquisition, and asset management company. Fountain Residential is managed by seasoned real estate professionals that have a combined experience of over 60 years in the industry having completed over $1.5B in student housing projects.

PLAY . DRINK . REPEAT

Follow Tap-In: Putts & Brews on social media for announcements, news, and events coming up

Tap In: Putts & Brews will serve alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages and food. (Photo: Business Wire)

Tap In: Putts & Brews is a self-pour establishment featuring self-pour craft beer and wine taps. (Photo: Business Wire)

Tap-In: Putts & Brews offers several sport simulator options including golf, football, baseball and arcades. (Photo: Business Wire)

Dockside at Clemson University is a fully furnished apartment community with onsite retail and direct dock access to Lake Hartwell. (Photo: Business Wire)