Nevada not as likely to ban indoor casino smoking as issue picks up steam in New Jersey

New Jersey casino workers' ongoing push to ban indoor smoking at Atlantic City's gaming venues continues to pick up steam, with many believing this will be the year that the loophole closes, as more lawmakers show their support for the plan. However, the situation seems to be sharply different in Nevada. Only a small number of casino operators have independently decided to provide their customers with smoke-free areas in the past three decades, and support for a ban doesn't seem as clear as in NJ.

While there could be a Nevada lawmaker who brings the issue to the Legislature, there seems to be an uphill battle to getting it signed into law. While considerable changes have been observed in the last few years, with Park MGM becoming the first smoke-free casino on the Strip in 2020 and other casinos developing their own non-smoking areas, many business leaders, lobbyists, and casino workers still see smoking as complementary to gambling. Others point to the bottom line: smoking-friendly policies keep some of the highest-spending customers happy.

Ted Pappageorge, the secretary-treasurer of Culinary Local 226, noted that there is a greater sense of disagreement among casino workers in Nevada than in New Jersey, as reported by Las Vegas Review-Journal. Based on a survey conducted in 2022, it was found that 90% of members of the employee-led organization do not smoke, yet only 61% of them support a ban on smoking in casinos.

The decision to become smoke-free is also about business. In 1991, for instance, the now-defunct Silver City Casino adopted a smoke-free policy to attract customers but reversed the policy three years later because revenues were steadily declining, recalls Review-Journal.

The push for a ban in New Jersey has now revived that debate. The Casino Association of New Jersey commissioned a report last month that predicted massive revenue and job losses if a smoking ban were implemented, although workers have contested the findings.

Ted Pappageorge, the secretary-treasurer of Culinary Local 226

Nonsmoking areas are common in casinos across the country. For instance, Pennsylvania permits 50 percent of a gaming floor to be nonsmoking. In Nevada, nonsmoking areas in some casinos appear to be on the way.

The Mirage, which recently changed ownership to the Seminole Indian Tribe-owned Hard Rock International, promoted a nonsmoking area with a sign at the property in mid-February. Privacy curtains and the sign were removed from the casino floor by March. 

"With the ongoing updates across the property, visitors will continue to see exciting changes as we improve and expand the guest experience," Joe Lupo, president of The Mirage, said in a statement, according to the above-mentioned media. "We look forward to sharing more in the next 30 days."

At the Plaza, construction continues on a 2,500-square-foot nonsmoking area as part of a multimillion-dollar transformation of its Main Street entrance. The section will have its own entrance for customers, and it will be separate from the rest of the gaming floor. It will include 80 slot machines and electronic table games, and it’s expected to open in late April, with a grand opening in mid-May.

"I’m a big believer in optionality and giving people a choice," Plaza CEO Jonathan Jossel said, as per Review-Journal. “I think the problem with the way it’s been done so far in the industry is that most of these smoke-free areas have been sort of in the back, and they haven’t been nice and haven’t had the best product.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compared secondhand smoke levels at Park MGM and seven other Strip casinos and found the levels were 5.4 times higher in gaming areas when compared with a smoke-free casino, according to a report published on Feb. 23.