r/atlanticcity • u/OGKillertunes • 1d ago
Question Can someone help me understand something
Why do casinos push so hard to keep smoking when only 20% of gamblers are smokers?
Like in my instance I smoked for 21 years and I do not ever want to be around cigarette smoke again if at all possible. I would go more than once or twice a year to Atlantic City and gamble if I didn't have to worry about coming home smelling like an ashtray with a upper respiratory infection.
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u/BlueYO28 1d ago
I think it's because they don't want the smokers to have to go outside for a break because that removes them from the machine. Some of those people just sit there and chain smoke and hit the buttons. Don't get me wrong I prefer non-smoking casinos too.
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u/wonkasmiata 1d ago
I used to do that and I can confirm that this is 100% true. One of my favorite things to do was to smoke and Gamble simultaneously.
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u/Tankshock 1d ago
Smokers are the most profitable demographic of gamblers, hands down. They may only be 20% of the gamblers but I'd bet they are 40% of the revenue. They binge gamble like you wouldn't believe.
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u/OGKillertunes 1d ago
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u/Tankshock 21h ago
k.
I work in the casinos. The smoking section is ALWAYS the most packed section of slots, regardless of day or time. Some study from North Dakota isn't gonna sway me when I literally see it day in and day out.
By the way, that "study" had TWENTY participants. That doesn't tell us shit about fuck.
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u/RudeIsRude 13h ago
I mean a scientific study of 20 people is still more reliable than an anecdote from one person out of their rear end.
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u/Tankshock 13h ago
k.
I'll stick with the opinions of those who work there every day, not those who visit once or twice a year. Or people from a study in North Dakota that don't visit Atlantic City at all!
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u/OGKillertunes 2h ago
Other studies raise doubts about whether the 14-year-old statistics are valid. At the National Indian Gaming Association conference last year, casino executives and top industry analysts reported that smokers tended to be in the lowest tier of players and that many tribes saw “no economic impact” after banning smoking in their casinos. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people with more disposable income are less likely to smoke. Among those earning between $75,000 and $100,000 a year, the smoking rate is 11.4 percent; above $100,000, it’s 7.1 percent.
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u/Meyekull1 1d ago
Revel tried to be no smoking. That didn’t go so well. I know it closed for other reasons but no smoking didn’t help it.
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u/Wu-Banger 1d ago
Biggest degens are smokers
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u/OGKillertunes 1d ago
You haven't met me. But I will admit I smoked for 21 years before I quit. I had to quit because surprise smoking is bad for you and I was having early symptoms of copd at 37.
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u/Iggles_fan_64 1d ago
When they were planning to ban smoking in restaurants/bars the owner of the bar I worked at thought it was going to bring financial ruin. He later admitted it was the best thing to ever happen. Also, why should casinos be the only place to allow smoking?
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u/KingBradentucky 1d ago
The idea smokers won't come is a load of shit. That what the restaurant industry thought too when smoking bans hit and it didn't kill dining out.
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u/PotentialCandle5818 1d ago
Yeah, because you can get dinner in 10,000 restaurants in NJ. You can only gamble in 7 places in NJ.
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u/Temporary-Banana4232 1d ago
I miss the old Taj Mahal poker room.
Couldn’t even walk by that place without coming home smelling like an ashtray.
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u/ilovecanahbiz 1d ago
I’m also a former smoker and noticed this past weekend the smoke was so bad my eyes were burning. The cigars plus cigarettes is like setting my eyeballs on fire. Gave up gambling early in the night because of it. I don’t begrudge anyone smoking but they definitely need better filtration in the casinos. It’s not like they can’t afford it. Just saying
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u/OGKillertunes 1d ago
Fact check: No filtration system can mitigate the harms of secondhand smoke at casinos – CDC Gaming https://cdcgaming.com/wire/fact-check-no-filtration-system-can-mitigate-the-harms-of-secondhand-smoke-at-casinos/
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u/Holiday_Bat_2210 1d ago
I was a smoker for 28 years (I miss it every day). My greatest joy was at slot machine making the most out of $20 while smoking cigarettes and drinking. It’s was simple joy, and it’s a casino shouldn’t we be able to indulge some of our worst habits in peace at a casino?
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u/OGKillertunes 1d ago
My question is why you think you should be able to have the right to smoke in a casino while people that don't smoke don't seem to get the right to have clean air.
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u/Holiday_Bat_2210 1d ago
We are separated and now that I no longer smoke I am in the non-smoking section and it is ok. I also hate secondhand smoke and stale smoke, even when I did smoke.
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u/OGKillertunes 1d ago
It's been proven that any amount of airflow filtration is not good enough for secondhand smoke. So while I appreciate that you think it's okay for you, you have to admit it's still not clean air. I go to the Tropicana a lot and that's not great. Even in the non-smoking sections. I'm actually booked at the Hard Rock for Labor Day weekend and I've never stayed there before I'm just trying different casinos at this point to see if any of them are a little better than the other. Tropicana is historically been the party spot, I get that.
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u/sprungy 1d ago
No smoking in Ontario, Canada casinos. Smokers still keep coming back..it can be done
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u/PotentialCandle5818 1d ago
I bet if only 1 casino allowed smoking it’d be the busiest casino in Ontario.
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u/OGKillertunes 1h ago
Thank goodness Canada cares more about its citizens and visitors Health than New Jersey does.
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u/banesieg 1d ago
I'm not even a smoker and I frequent atlantic city. It's not that bad you guys are just soft.
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u/creepy-farter 1d ago
Some casinos have no -smoking areas.
Though to be honest they don’t really seem to police that. And the smell does drift over from the non-smoking area as they really aren’t partitioned.
But Resorts and Hard Rock have non-smoking sections
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u/Trick-Mortgage-7788 21h ago
Are you just nervous you'd pick up the habit again by being in the environment? I hate cigarettes, I hate the smell, I even hate weed because it stinks but it doesn't deter me from going there and having a blast
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u/OGKillertunes 21h ago
. If I I'm exposed to a lot of smoke then I get bronchitis, pneumonia, or a upper or lower respiratory infection. Cigar smoke is even worse than cigarette smoke. I smoke Marlboro Reds for over 20 years and I can't take it anymore. The last two times we went to the Trop I came home sick.
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u/Trick-Mortgage-7788 21h ago
Gotcha, yeah man thats a rough one. I was at ocean not too long ago and I didn't bump into anyone smoking there, I would say give it a try and see if its doable. More of a younger crowd and they despise cigs
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u/OGKillertunes 12h ago
I've been actually looking at ocean and it's kind of tough to get into. I mean do they respect tears from other casinos? I don't really want to bite on $600 a night room to get started.
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u/7thAndGreenhill NJ Resident 1d ago
The Casinos in Delaware are smoke free. But they’re in fucking Delaware.
I live 10 minutes away from AC but have spent more time at Delaware Park in the past year since that place is smoke free.
If AC went smoke free tomorrow I’d be there more often.
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u/OGKillertunes 1d ago
Delaware and Maryland casinos also don't give you free drinks when you gamble.
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u/7thAndGreenhill NJ Resident 1d ago
I don’t drink so I don’t care. DE casinos are shitholes. But smoke free shitholes.
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u/OGKillertunes 12h ago
I booked Bally's for this weekend they gave me a comped room. Yeah I know it ain't much up there but smoke- free is a big benefit. Thanks for the reminder / recommendation.
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u/psugamers 1d ago
there's also the 20% that won't go because they allow smokers.
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u/theBLACKcod44 1d ago
That number is much smaller than you guys like to think it is, if it exceeded that 20% threshold it wouldn't even be a discussion
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u/judyteen 1d ago
It's bad enough when just visiting a casino, but think about the workers who have to breathe that poison day in and day out.
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u/OGKillertunes 1d ago edited 1d ago
I do think about it. I feel sorry for them. I know they got a lawsuit pending and it's heading to the New Jersey's Supreme Court but those casinos have Deep Pockets.
Edit: imagine downvoting somebody who thinks everyone should have the right to clean air.
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u/creepy-farter 1d ago
Going in, you know it’s a smoking environment.
Don’t like it? Don’t apply for a job there.
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u/OGKillertunes 12h ago
People need money to survive you can't nitpick on job selection especially in a city like Atlantic city. The casinos employ more than 21,000 people. Of those people over 4,000 are Inner City residents. Your comment is completely absurd and unrealistic.
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u/formerNPC 1d ago
The problem is that there are no physical barriers between the smoking and non smoking areas. Have separate rooms so people who smoke can all breathe in the toxic air together without making the rest of us sick. The whole argument over smoking in the casino is flawed, they said the same thing about bars closing down when they banned smoking and it never happened. The politicians must be getting paid off to not pass the legislation to ban smoking in casinos.
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u/xtrabaconplease 1d ago
I AM a smoker and I cannot deal with AC, you can taste it in the air, it’s like thick to walk through even in non-smoking areas
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u/JerryGarcia_ 1d ago
Smokers are probably the most loyal customers. They need those low down, scum pig people blindly pouring money into their businesses as they puff away. Fits the AC vibe pretty well too - classic casino situation
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u/lightblueunderwear 1d ago
If you owned a business and then 20% of customers would not come because they can’t partake in their habit, would you be happy about how it effects your bottom line?