New Jersey and union ask judge to dismiss anti-smoking lawsuit targeting Atlantic City casinos

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City’s main casino workers union and the state’s attorney general want a judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a different union that seeks to ban smoking at the city’s nine casinos. Local 54 of the Unite Here union says many of its 10,000 workers could lose their jobs and the means to support their families if smoking were banned. Currently, smoking is allowed on 25% of the casino floor. A lawsuit brought earlier this month by the United Auto Workers, which represents dealers at the Bally’s, Caesars and Tropicana casinos, seeks to overturn New Jersey’s indoor smoking law, which bans it in virtually every workplace except casinos.