While casino players in the Times News area have three nearby choices in Pennsylvania to spend their money - Wind Creek in Bethlehem, Mohegan Sun in Plains Township near Wilkes-Barre and Mount Airy in Paradise Township near Mount Pocono - they will occasionally head off to Atlantic City to one of the nine casinos along the Boardwalk or marina.

One of the ongoing issues among casino management and the public involves smoking on the casino floors. Although all of the casinos in both states have made concessions to nonsmokers by establishing smoke-free sections, nonsmokers and casino employees are pushing for a total ban.

In Pennsylvania, casinos are required to have at least 50% of the casino floor smoke-free, while in New Jersey, it is up to 75%. Two casinos in Pennsylvania are totally smoke-free - Parx Casino and Rivers Casino, both in the Philadelphia area, although neither has called the current policy “permanent.” None of the casinos in New Jersey is smoke-free. Atlantic City banned smoking for four weeks in 2008, but after the industry saw the results, quickly restored it to the current level. In the first week of the ban, winnings declined by 19.5%, according to state regulators.

Earlier this month, two Allegheny County legislators introduced amendments to the Pennsylvania Clean Air Act that would ban smoking in the state’s casinos and other indoor workplaces such as bars and clubs. The proposal was introduced by Rep. Dan Frankel and Sen. Jay Costa and was immediately hailed by many casino employees who are concerned that secondhand smoke is causing them irreparable medical issues.

Look for casino lobbyists to put up a major fight to attempt to block this legislation from ever seeing the light of day. They hope to have it sent off to committee where it could suffer an ignominious death.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, a study released in February showed that a smoking ban in the Garden State could result in the loss of 2,500 jobs and nearly 11% of casino revenue at a time when the gaming palaces are struggling to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study was commissioned by the Casino Association of New Jersey and conducted by the Spectrum Gaming Group, an independent research firm. Its conclusions largely support casinos’ assertions that not only would a total smoking ban cost thousands of jobs, but it will cut deeply into New Jersey’s gambling tax proceeds and affect the state’s collection of income taxes on casino employees’ wages. Opponents of the Pennsylvania bill are expected to make similar arguments.

The study found that about one of five casino players is a smoker (21%), but they are worth more to casinos than nonsmokers because they tend to lose more money than nonsmokers. There were previous studies that show that multiple addictions are at play among some gamblers. Not only are they afflicted by uncontrolled gambling, but these patrons tend to drink more, which lessens inhibitions and causes reckless gambling behavior. They also tend to smoke more as their tensions and frustrations grow, the study claims.

Groups such as Americans for Non-Smokers Rights disagree. It cited information from a July 2021 tribal gambling conference in Las Vegas where panelists reported that revenue lost during the first year of smoking bans rebounded in subsequent years to higher amounts than prior to the ban.

The group also pointed to a comment last fall from William Miller, president of the American Gaming Association, who admitted that some casinos which have enacted smoking bans found no detrimental effects.

The efforts to ban smoking formerly involved mainly complaints from patrons, but, in recent years, casino workers have become more aggressive in pushing for an outright smoking ban, and these complaints are getting traction with the unions that represent these workers.

Since they are exposed constantly to secondhand smoke during their shifts on the casino floor, they allege that the New Jersey report puts profits over the health of employees and customers. They also said the report does not address what might happen down the road as patrons get used to a smoking ban.

After the New Jersey casinos reopened following a 118-day closure in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, smoking was banned and drinks were not served on the casino floor until about a year later, when some of the more restrictive pandemic measures were lifted. Pennsylvania had initiated a similar ban during the heart of the pandemic.

Casinos are among the last indoor safe havens for smokers. Both states granted exemptions to the bans on indoor smoking, but because of health concerns with the long-lasting effects of some of the COVID-19 variants, patrons and employees want state legislators to close these loopholes.

Legislators in both states are looking more favorably in taking this step. Gov. Tom Wolf has not indicated a position on the legislation should it reach his desk, while in New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he would sign a smoking ban into law if he received the bill from the state Legislature. Both Wolf and Murphy are Democrats. Republicans control the Pennsylvania General Assembly, while Democrats hold the edge in New Jersey.

As I see it, the climate is perfect for both states to enact a total smoking ban in casinos.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.