G2E to Hold Discussion on Smoking with Parx Casino CEO Eric Haulser, BCSlots’ Brian Christopher, C3 Gaming’s Andrew Klebanow, & ANR
July 26, 2023 | Contact: press@no-smoke.org
Berkeley, CA – Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, released the following statement after the American Gaming Association (AGA) and Global Gaming Expo (G2E) announced that the 2023 G2E education program will include a conversation about smoking at casinos, which will be held on Wednesday, October 11 at 3:10pm.
“We applaud AGA and G2E organizers for recognizing smoking as an important and timely issue for discussion at the gaming industry’s largest annual gathering. Each year, G2E features conversations on a range of topics most relevant to the industry, even if how to approach a given topic lacks unanimity from industry stakeholders. ANR has been attending G2E and other major industry gatherings for many years, as exhibitors, audience members, and partners in supporting a strong future for the gaming industry, all while seeking to educate industry leaders about the harms of secondhand smoke, which undisputedly causes cancer, heart disease, asthma, emphysema and other diseases. We appreciate the attention G2E will give to indoor smoking within the formal education program at this year’s show.
“Concerns about the serious health consequences of indoor smoking at casinos for workers and guests alike have grown dramatically in the last several years as the pandemic brought greater awareness to our health and safety in public spaces. In response, many casinos, both commercial and especially Tribal casinos, have gone smokefree – and have continued to thrive, including Park MGM in Las Vegas and Parx Casino in Pennsylvania. We’ve repeatedly seen that claims about dramatic negative business impacts have not come to fruition. However, some in the industry continue to peddle misinformation as a scare tactic meant to maintain the dangerous status quo.
“Yet these tactics are increasingly falling flat – with legislators, guests and the public – and the insistence by many casinos to keep indoor smoking has ignited a worker-led movement, Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE), pushing back against this outdated business practice in the name of protecting their health. They’re tired of seeing colleagues get sick and they fear they may be next, leaving them wondering who will care for their children and families if they are injured, sick, or no longer around. CEASE represents thousands of casino employees and has expanded from Atlantic City to Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Virginia, with casino workers in other states taking note and also starting to organize. As a result of their speaking out, states like New Jersey are closer than ever to passing legislation that would finally close the casino smoking loophole and ensure the same protections that are afforded to virtually every other worker in the state apply to them too.
“We look forward this discussion in October and encourage the organizers of other industry events to follow the lead of G2E and the Indian Gaming Association Trade Show – which has held several discussions on smoking in recent years – to follow suit and encourage a conversation on the impacts of continuing to allow indoor smoking in the year 2023 and beyond.”
The session, “A Discussion: Smoking & Casinos,” will include the following panelists:
- Andrew Klebanow, co-founder, C3 Gaming
- Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights
- Eric Hausler, CEO, Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment (owner of Parx Casino)
- Brian Christopher, CEO, BCSlots
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR NONSMOKERS’ RIGHTS
Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) is a member-supported, non-profit advocacy group that has been working for over 45 years, since 1976, to protect everyone’s right to breathe nontoxic air in workplaces and public places, from offices and airplanes to restaurants, bars, and casinos. ANR has continuously shined a light on the tobacco industry’s interference with sound and life-saving public health measures and successfully protected 61% of the population with local or statewide smokefree workplace, restaurant, and bar laws. ANR aims to close gaps in smokefree protections for workers in all workplaces, including bars, music venues, casinos, and hotels. For more information, please visit https://nonsmokersrights.org and https://smokefreecasinos.org.
