Indoor dining, beverage service, and smoking is set to return to Atlantic City’s casinos Friday morning, despite criticism over the relaxation of the no indoor smoking policy amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Monday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued Executive Order 183, under which after 6 am (local time) on Friday, September 4, “any retail, recreational, and entertainment business that is authorized to open its indoor premises to the public may allow the consumption of food, beverages, or smoking in those indoor premises.”
While the return of indoor dining and drinks was welcome news, the resumption of indoor smoking raised concerns from both casino staff and patrons.
Some employees working at Atlantic City’s nine operational casinos noted that while they felt safe at first when they returned to work in early July, they are now concerned about their health due to the return of smoking indoors. There were casino guests who voiced similar concerns.
Despite the resumption of dining, drinking, and smoking indoors at the city’s casinos, other Covid-19 health and safety regulations implemented upon their reopening will remain in place. As per these, guests will still be obligated to wear face masks when not smoking or drinking on the casino floor. They will also be required to remain seated while smoking or drinking.
Return of Pre-Covid Regulations
Asked to respond to the concerns raised by casino staff and guests, a spokesperson for Gov. Murphy’s office told local media that the executive order issued earlier this week actually “reverses back to existing state law” that bans smoking in almost all indoor areas, including indoor dining outlets, with the exception of certain areas such as casino floors.
Per state law, smoking is permitted on 25% of the casino floor both at slot machines and table games.
Commenting on the return of indoor smoking, Steve Callender, Regional President for Caesars Entertainment Inc., which operates three properties in Atlantic City, and President of the New Jersey Casino Association, said that they are acknowledging the risks of smoking indoors, especially for table game dealers as they are stationary.
Mr. Callender noted that individual casinos can sometimes accommodate a dealer’s request to be placed at a non-smoking table. In addition, he pointed out that many of Atlantic City’s gambling venues offer face shields to employees at table games and that all table games have plexiglass dividers between dealers and players.
Atlantic City’s casinos suspended operations in mid-March when Gov. Murphy ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses to help curb the advance of the coronavirus. The properties were allowed to reopen doors in early July.
The relaxation of some of the restrictions previously implemented in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic happens at an extremely important time for Atlantic City’s casino industry, which reported a $112 million loss due to the shutdown of the city’s gambling venues which spanned throughout the entire tourism-heavy second quarter of the year.
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