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)

Billie Eilish’s third studio album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft” and the return of “Bridgerton” are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Zayn Malik releases a new album, the video game Homeworld returns after more than 20 years and Cord Jefferson’s Oscar-winning “American Fiction” lands on Prime Video .

— Seasons one and two of “Bridgerton” followed the first two novels in the series by Julia Quinn. Taking place in Regency-era London, each book is about the love story of one Bridgerton family member. Season three, however, skips to book No. 4 with the friends to lovers’ courtship of Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan.) Netflix has broken the season into two parts with the first batch of new episodes premiering Thursday.

— Sophie Rundle of “Peaky Blinders” stars in “After the Flood,” as a police officer in a UK town that is devastated by a flood. The six-episode series is both a thriller and a red flag about the consequences of climate change. The series premiered Monday on BritBox.

— Josh Brolin leads “Outer Range” on Prime Video, a Western about neighboring ranchers battling for land that quickly turns trippy with time-travel. Lili Taylor, Tom Pelphrey, Imogen Poots and Shaun Sipos also star. All seven episodes of season two dropped on Thursday.

— André Holland (“Moonlight”) plays Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton in the new series “The Big Cigar” for Apple TV+. It dives into the true story of how in 1974, Holland was being pursued by the FBI for murder and assault charges. He got help from a movie producer named Bert Schneider to escape to Cuba. The six-episode series debuts Friday.

— The popular food competition series “Ciao House” returns for its second season on Sunday, May 19 on Food Network. On the show, 12 chefs live together in a villa in Puglia, Italy, and compete in various culinary challenges. The contestants form alliances and rivalries. In the end, the winner gets to train under master Italian chefs. “Iron Chef” champion Alex Guarnaschelli and Gabe Bertaccini return as hosts.

— Alicia Rancilio

– Cord Jefferson’s Oscar-winning “American Fiction,” one of the most celebrated directorial debuts in recent years, is now on Prime Video . Jeffrey Wright stars at Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a frustrated novelist who, in a drunken fit of rage, pens a satirical book parodying what’s popular, only it becomes a sensation. Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Issa Rae and Leslie Uggams round out a terrific ensemble. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr wrote that “American Fiction” “is immensely watchable, staged without flash or pretention, that relies on its sharp script and talented and charismatic actors to carry the audience through.”

– A trio of new films coming to Netflix covers a wide gamut. The animated “Thelma the Unicorn” (streaming Friday) is about a small pony painted to pose as a unicorn, voiced by the Grammy-winning singer-guitarist Brittany Howard. Yance Ford’s “Power” (streaming Friday) examines the roots of American policing and its evolution over time. And “Madame Web,” the much-maligned Marvel entry in Sony’s Spider-Man universe of films, landed Tuesday on Netflix. Dakota Johnson stars in what Bahr wrote in her review “feels like the stitched-together product of a bunch of people who weren’t actually collaborating.”

– The odds are more in the favor of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” which began streaming on Starz after a successful theatrical run last November. It’s a prequel to the Hunger Games, themselves. The games are in their 10th year and ratings are flagging, but a few twists and turns will catapult them to Panem’s center stage. The origin story is also for the man who will become President Coriolanus Snow, played by Donald Sutherland in the first four films. Here, the young, ambitious Snow is played by Tom Blythe, whose performance lifts the movie. In my review, I wrote: “Just as in the ‘Hunger Games’ films led by Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen, the new one proves how much you can sacrifice in story when you’ve got a thrilling young performer commanding the screen.”

— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

— What can listeners expect from Billie Eilish ’s third studio album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft”? It’s a mystery, and the pop star is keeping it that way for a reason. Last month, Eilish announced the album by sharing the artwork on Instagram. It depicts Eilish floating in a body of water after being ejected from a door. In the caption, she wrote that she will not drop singles in advance of the release. “I wanna give it to you all at once,” she captioned the image. “I truly could not be more proud of this album.” Here's what we do know: Eilish once again worked with her brother and longtime collaborator Finneas on “Hit Me Hard and Soft.” ( Read AP's review here.)

— Once known as a heartthrob with the best pipes in the British boy band One Direction, Zayn Malik was the first to courageously individuate and leave the group that kickstarted his career and launch an R&B pop career. That was a lifetime ago — now, on Friday, he will release his fourth solo studio album, “Room Under the Stairs,” dreamt up and written at his home in rural Pennsylvania. This time around he worked with the legendary country producer Dave Cobb (known for his work with Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, and Brandi Carlile, among others) for Malik's folkiest release to date. It’s part-R&B, part-soul, part-acoustic Americana — a new, matured Malik for a new era.

— For several years, SQÜRL, the musical moniker of duo filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan, have performed sonic compositions to partner the cinematic works of Dadaist Man Ray. On Friday, all of that work reaches its natural apex when they will release a new album, “Music for Man Ray,” on the 100th anniversary of Man Ray’s filmic pursuits. (For the film fans reading this, you may have sense this was coming when the recently restored Man Ray film “Return to Reason” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. ) Surrealist music for the senses.

— Alternative rock fans, there’s a new docu-reality series for you. “ Billy Corgan’s Adventures in Carnyland” is an eight-part unscripted series from The CW that follows the Smashing Pumpkins’ frontman as he navigates fatherhood, being in a band, and his other idiosyncratic pursuits as a wrestling promoter and owner of the National Wrestling Alliance. Stream it on the CW App and cwtv.com.

— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

— Twenty-one years isn’t that much time on a cosmic scale, but for fans of the science fiction epic Homeworld — who have waited since 2003 since the last full-blown installment — it has been an eternity. As Gearbox Publishing’s Homeworld 3 begins, the galaxy has enjoyed an age of prosperity thanks to the discovery of a network of hyperspace gates. The good times may be running out, though, as some of the gates are mysteriously collapsing. Developer Blackbird Interactive, which includes some veterans of the original game, promises plenty of the 3D outer space combat that made it a hit, whether you want to fly solo or engage in free-for-alls against your friends. Liftoff on the PC.

— If you prefer your mysteries a little more earthbound, Annapurna Interactive’s Lorelei and the Laser Eyes has you covered. You have been invited to explore an old hotel somewhere in Europe, where you’ll soon find yourself “embroiled in a game of illusions.” The aesthetic is classic film noir, with eerie black-and-white settings accented with splashes of red. Swedish studio Simogo, known for mind-benders like Year Walk and Device 6, promises “an immense amount of handcrafted puzzles,” so if you’ve been craving a really big escape room, check in on Nintendo Switch and PC.

— Lou Kesten

Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/entertainment.

This image released by MGM shows Erika Alexander, left, and Jeffrey Wright in a scene from "American Fiction." (Claire Folger/MGM-Orion via AP)

This combination of images shows promotional art for the series "After the Flood," left, and part 1 of the latest season of "Bridgerton." (BritBox/Netflix via AP)

This combination of images shows promotional art for the cooking series "Ciao House," left, and the series "The Big Cigar." (Food Network/Apple TV+ via AP)

This image released by Lionsgate shows Rachel Zegler, center, in a scene from "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." (Lionsgate via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Danny Stallion, voiced by Fred Armisen, Megan, voiced by Edi Patterson, and Thelma, voiced by Brittany Howard, in a scene from "Thelma The Unicorn." (Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Thelma, voiced by Brittany Howard, in a scene from "Thelma The Unicorn." (Netflix via AP)

This image released by Lionsgate shows Tom Blyth, left, and Rachel Zegler in a scene from "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." (Lionsgate via AP)

This album cover image shows “Music for Man Ray” by SQÜRL. (Sacred Bones via AP)

This album cover image shows “Hit Me Hard and Soft" by Billie Eilish. (Darkroom-Interscope via AP)

This image released by Lionsgate shows Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, left, and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in a scene from "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." (Murray Close/Lionsgate via AP)

This combination of album covers shows “Hit Me Hard and Soft" by Billie Eilish, left, “Room Under the Stairs” by Zayn, center, and “Music for Man Ray” by SQÜRL. (Darkroom-Interscope/Mercury/Sacred Bones via AP)