Casino operators are not necessarily the type of businessmen you would expect to be on the right side of history, but despite this, their utter refusal to acknowledge the dangers of second-hand smoke at the venue of work and to ban smoking in casinos during the year 2024 is surprising.

Less surprising is the legislator’s willingness to bend and act in favor of a powerful commercial interest to the detriment of workers’ health.

The Smoke Free Air Act was passed 23 years ago. The law prohibits smoking in bars and restaurants – much to the dismay of bar and restaurant owners – in order to protect workers’ rights to carry out their jobs in a poison-free environment.

The hospitality industry predicted catastrophic consequences, such as job losses and the closing of sports bars left and right, leading to the eventual collapse of the Jalapeño Popper industrial complex.

Yeah, that didn’t happen. Everything is fine. Restaurants are a loud noise, but it’s not because you can’t get any light inside. The same will be true when casinos finally bite the bullet and pass their own ban.

It’s no surprise that casinos want to maintain the status quo when it works for them, but it doesn’t work for their employees who have to do their jobs in a cancerous fog. The fact that casinos got an exclusion 23 years ago is bad enough. Worse is the fact that lawmakers have allowed them to treat their employees like expendable property for nearly a quarter of a century, with no sign of stopping.

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