Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said “we’ll find a way to get this done in both houses of the Legislature,” but did not say which approach he favors. Senate President Nicholas Scutari declined comment Thursday. Pete Naccarelli, a Borgata dealer and a leader of the employee anti-smoking movement, said Polistina is “copying and pasting casino executive talking points and attempting to present them as a credible solution. That did not go over well with the many casino workers. If enacted in early 2024, Polistina’s measure would end smoking on the unenclosed casino floor by the fall of 2025, he said. He called the idea of smoking rooms “preposterous” and called on lawmakers to pass the original smoking ban bill.

That proposal was denounced last week by Shawn Fain, international president of the United Auto Workers, which represents dealers at three Atlantic City casinos. It would prohibit smoking at table games gradually reduce smoking at slot machines over 18 months, with specific distances between table games and the nearest smoking-permitted slot machines and give the casinos 18 months to build enclosed rooms where gamblers could still smoke, but which would be staffed by employees who volunteer to work in them. Polistina said he expects to introduce the new bill next year after the current legislative session ends. “It is disappointing that after two years of advocating and building support with our colleagues, we still do not have the necessary support in the Legislature to get a full smoking ban passed.” “My conversations with leaders in both houses make it clear that there is not enough support for this bill,” he said, referring to the original measure that would ban smoking without exceptions. He said he’s writing a new measure incorporating proposals favored by the casino industry while still working toward the goal of keeping secondhand smoke away from workers and customers who don’t want it. Vince Polistina, a Republican from the Atlantic City area who has appeared with casino workers at rallies in favor of a smoking ban, said the original bill is going nowhere. Angry workers said they want the state’s top Democratic leadership to force a vote on the original bill that would impose a total smoking ban, but the likelihood of such a vote remains unclear.

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