Rhode Island Senate President Says 'If Smoking in a Casino Is a Criminal Offense, Stay Home'
Rhode Island Senate President Dominic Rugerio (D-North Providence) is famously gay. That may be why he sided with smokers when the state government considered whether to end indoor smoking at Bally's Twin River Lincoln and Bally's Tiverton.
Ruggerio argued that smoke-free casinos would cost state taxes because many gamblers prefer to smoke. iGaming will begin in April after state lawmakers and Gov. Dan McKee (D) passed a bill this year that would allow "online slots" and table games. Ruggerio said players who don't like the smell of smoke can stay home.
If you have iGaming, you can stay at home. You don't have to go. If [smoking] bothers you, you can stay home and play," Ruggerio said in an interview with The Boston Globe.
This isn't the first time the Senate president has expressed "pretty strong opposition" to casino workers who want clean air in their workplaces. In June, Ruggerio said casino employees who complained about cigarette and cigar smoke took those jobs "knowingly" that smoking was present.
"All of a sudden, there's a small group of people who feel like this is bad for their health," Ruggerio said. "Wear a mask. Work in no-smoking areas. I don't think the adjustment has to be through legislation but between the workers and Bally's."
State Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D-Narragansett) said she will introduce legislation to ban smoking in casinos when the 2024 legislative session begins in January.
President calls for $15 million for anti-smoking efforts
Ruggerio believes banning smoking at two Rhode Island casinos will cost the state $15 million a year in reduced gambling taxes.
As I told the union: give us the $15 million we will lose. They haven't gotten up yet. If they want to give us the revenue we’re losing because of this, I’m going to quit,” Ruggerio said.
Ruggerio claimed that many Rhode Island players visited Encore Boston Harbor, Wynn Resorts’ $2.6 billion integrated resort that opened in June 2019.
"They can't smoke there, especially in the winter, so they come back here," Ruggerio said.
Massachusetts law prohibits smoking in casinos. Connecticut's two tribal casinos, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, also ban smoking inside the casinos. The Mohegan Sun and Mashantucket-Pequa Tribal Nations decided to keep their casinos smoke-free in the wake of the pandemic.
Rhode Island Smoking Laws
Rhode Island's two commercial casinos can designate portions of their gaming floors as smoke-free under the state's 2004 Public Health and Work Safety Act. Rooms should be "space-isolated" from non-smoking areas and equipped with independent ventilation systems.
Many casino employees and some guests say secondhand smoke doesn't just stay in smoking areas, but also penetrates so-called smoke-free areas. A grassroots coalition of Bally's employees formed a local chapter of CEASE, Casino Employees Against the Effects of Smoking, a New Jersey-based organization where casino employees are working to make Atlantic City casinos smoke-free.
CEASE also has chapters in Pennsylvania and Kansas. So far, no CEASE group has helped push for changes to the state's casino smoking laws.
The New Jersey Senate and Assembly appear set to vote comprehensively on a bill that would ban smoking in Atlantic City casinos. That is until several Republicans expressed support in committee. Those lawmakers now want to hear suggestions from casinos about possible remedies beyond a blanket ban on smoking. The Atlantic City casino industry claims the smoking ban will result in more than 2,000 job losses.
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Source: www.casino.org
