Bally’s Shareholder Proxy Votes Easily Surpass Threshold to Resubmit Smokefree Proposal Next Year ANRF: Indoor Smoking in Casinos is an Issue Casino Company Leadership Can’t Ignore Berkeley, CA — In the second of three shareholder votes by major casino companies, more than three million shareholder proxy votes were cast in favor of a proposal for Bally’s Corporation to study the economic impact of maintaining indoor smoking at its casinos. According to Bally’s Corporation’s SEC filing, 3,145,853 shareholder proxy votes, or 11.6%, voted in favor of the proposal, while 23,983,362 voted against i ..read more

ANR Foundation Partners with CityHealth ANRF worked with our partners CityHealth to write a blog post in recognition of April being National Healthy Homes Month. The post raises awareness about how cities can support healthy housing policies that improve residents’ health and well-being, especially by expanding the availablity of smokefree multi-unit housing. May is National Asthma Awareness Month which is another opportune time to highlight the need for smokefree housing, since breathing secondhand smoke is a key asthma trigger for both children and adults. As stated in the blog post, everyon ..read more

Bill Should Be Put to a Vote at Next Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee Meeting in May Atlantic City, NJ – Atlantic City’s thousands of casino dealers are urging Assemblyman Bill Moen, Chair of the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee, to advance his legislation to close the casino smoking loophole and protect workers’ health. Moen is the lead sponsor of A2143, legislation to end indoor smoking at casinos, which is awaiting a vote in the committee he chairs; as committee chair he has a prime opportunity to schedule the bill for a vote when the Committee meet ..read more

ANR Foundation: “We Are Confident that We Now Have the Attention of the Highest Level Executives at Not Just Boyd Gaming But Across the Entire Gaming Industry.”  Rhode Island Treasurer Has Announced His Support for Similar Bally’s Corporation Proposal on Thursday May 13, 2024 Contact: press@no-smoke.org Berkeley, CA – In the first of three shareholder votes by major casino companies in the coming weeks, Boyd Gaming’s shareholders on Thursday did not pass the measure requiring the company to study the business costs of maintaining indoor smoking at its properties. However, shareholder ..read more

Casino Workers Urge Shareholders to Follow Suit, Prioritize Health and Safety Over Outdated Practices May 10, 2024 Contact: ceasesmokingnj@gmail.com Providence, RI  – Bill DelSanto, a table games dealer at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln and a member of Rhode Island’s Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE), released the following statement after Rhode Island State Treasurer James Diossa agreed to back a Bally’s Corporation shareholder proposal to study the potential savings of going smokefree at all Bally’s properties:  “We applaud Treasurer James Diossa&nbs ..read more

Rhode Island Casino Workers and Advocates Rally for Smokefree Legislation at State Capitol suit CEASE: We Won’t Settle For Anything Less Than Full Protection May 10, 2024 Contact: ceasesmokingnj@gmail.com Providence, RI  – Ahead of the Rhode Island House Finance Committee hearing on HB 7500 – aimed at closing the casino smoking loophole — Representative Tanzi, a lead bill sponsor, joined by casino workers, delivered a letter yesterday to State Treasurer James Diossa urging him to vote in favor of a shareholder proposal to study the potential cost saving ..read more

New Jersey AG Files Motion to Dismiss UAW and CEASE Lawsuit “Governor Murphy Should Not Defend A Law that Jeopardizes the Lives of Thousands of NJ Workers” Atlantic City, NJ – Lamont White, co-founder of Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) and table games dealer at Borgata, released the following statement after New Jersey Attorney General filed a motion with the court today seeking to dismiss the lawsuit brought by UAW and CEASE earlier this month: “Governor Murphy should not defend a law that jeopardizes the lives of thousands of New Jersey workers. He’s shamefully giving crede ..read more

“One of the Fundamental Purposes of a Union is to Advocate for the Health and Safety of Workers.” Atlantic City, NJ – In response to Local 54 yesterday filing a motion to dismiss the lawsuit seeking to protect casino workers’ health from toxic indoor smoking – in which they wrote “there is no right to a healthful environment…there is no constitutional right to be free from secondhand smoke” – Local 54 and CEASE members Lisa Mathias and Chris Ireland, a beverage server and bartender at Atlantic City casinos, released the following statement: “We’re appalled to witness our union fight against o ..read more

CEASE Releases New Videos Prior to MGM Shareholder Meeting Casino Workers Call on MGM to Prioritize This Life-Saving Issue And Swiftly Take Action April 29, 2024 Contact: ceasesmokingnj@gmail.com Atlantic City, NJ — Ahead of MGM’s annual shareholder meeting, Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) co-founders and MGM Resorts casino workers at Borgata in Atlantic City released videos calling on the casino corporation to prioritize workers’ health by assessing the potential cost benefits of transitioning to a smokefree indoor air policy.  “Nine out of ten peopl ..read more

ANRF Smokefree Lists and Maps Quarterly Update The ANR Foundation is pleased to announce our most recent quarterly update to the lists and maps of U.S. municipalities and states with smokefree laws now in effect.  Congratulations to Beaumont, MS, and Tarkio, MO, for their new 100% Smokefree Workplace, Restaurant, Bar, and Gaming laws! See all ofour updated lists on no-smoke.org. In unfortunate news, the state of Ohio has enacted preemption, effective April 24, 2024.  Ohio municipalities are preempted from regulating use of tobacco and alternative nicotine products, including ESDs del ..read more