‘They should not have cancer when they don’t smoke’: Workers, clean air advocates urge state to move on banning smoking at casinos

Jennifer Rubolino said she has enjoyed working as a table games dealer at Rivers Casino for the past five years. 

What she does not like, however, is the smoke from patrons’ cigarettes and cigars that permeates the entire casino floor, even the nonsmoking area where she is stationed. 

“I have to go home and wash my hair because when I hit the pillow, I want it to smell fresh like shampoo, and then you have to wash your uniform because it’s stinky,” Rubolino said. “You don’t want to bring that home.”

Beyond the smell, the smoke poses a clear health risk to casino guests and workers at Rivers and other Pennsylvania casinos, where indoor smoking continues because of a cutout in the state’s 2008 Clean Indoor Air Act that banned smoking in most indoor establishments. 

At a news conference Thursday on the North Shore hosted by Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects, Rubolino, the group’s co-leader, spoke alongside other clean air advocates who urged the state to pass legislation that would prohibit smoking and vaping in many locations where it is still allowed under the 2008 law. 

One such bill, sponsored by state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, has already passed through the state House Health Committee and awaits a vote by the full House, but the timeline is unclear. Meanwhile, a companion bill remains in the state Senate Health Committee.

Frankel urged state congressional leaders to put up for a vote his legislation, which he said has strong bipartisan support.

“We are on the cusp of passing legislation in the state of Pennsylvania to protect all workers, and it’s about time,” Frankel said. “We know that 53,000 Americans every year die from second-hand smoke, and it’s the most preventable disease that we can do something about. And we have that opportunity here in Pennsylvania.”

The biggest opponent to the legislation has been the casino lobby, according to Frankel, and he accused casinos of exploiting people with both smoking and gambling addictions.

In a statement, Rivers Casino noted it has a variety of areas where smoking is prohibited. The casino did not comment on its position on the new legislation; it said it would follow state law.  

“Currently, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh features designated smoking and nonsmoking areas of our gaming floor,” casino spokesperson Jack Horner said. “All restaurants, BetRivers Sportsbook, Poker Room, The Event Center, banquet rooms and The Landing Hotel are nonsmoking. Decisions about smoking in Pennsylvania’s casinos are made by the state Legislature, and Rivers will, of course, comply with whatever the commonwealth mandates.”

But Frankel said having nonsmoking areas — and even a ventilation system — is not enough to protect workers. 

“They will argue that they have ventilation systems that prevent that smoke from being spread through other parts of the casino,” Frankel said. “One of the things that we heard when we had testimony in the House Health Committee was from the director of the association of air filtration companies, who said to us that those systems are ineffective at eliminating smoke in closed spaces. That was just kind of a stunner.” 

While Frankel’s legislation would ban smoking at casinos and other businesses that were cut out from the Clean Indoor Air Act, such as at day care centers in private homes, smoking would still be allowed in places such as cigar bars and private clubs. Vaping, which was not addressed by the 2008 law, also would be prohibited at the same locations.

The United Auto Workers, which represents casino workers in Pennsylvania, said it backs the legislation.

“These workers deserve to go home the same way that they came in,” said Wence Valentin III, political director of UAW Region 9. “They should not have cancer when they don’t smoke. It’s ridiculous.”

Valentin noted that a similar fight is happening in New Jersey, where the UAW has sued the state over smoking in casinos.

For Rubolino, who noted that her mother died of COPD, a disease often caused by smoking, the legislation is about protecting not just herself but also her co-workers and patrons.

“Some customers came today who I told about the event,” she said. “They’re happy to get rid of the smoke, too. Some of them sit in the nonsmoking section, but again, it’s still in the air.”