{"id":2100,"date":"2024-06-18T20:30:34","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T20:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/?p=2100"},"modified":"2024-06-27T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T13:35:32","slug":"rhode-island-casino-smoking-opponents-hope-to-clear-the-air-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/2024\/06\/18\/rhode-island-casino-smoking-opponents-hope-to-clear-the-air-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhode Island Casino Smoking Opponents Hope to Clear the Air in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rhode Island is home to the Bally\u2019s Corporation, which holds a monopoly on casino operations in the state. The 2024 legislative session saw the gaming firm dealt winning legislative hands before the General Assembly adjourned for the year last week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Rhode
Rhode Island Rep. Teresa Tanzi in 2022 poses with casino smoking opponents in the Providence capital. The evening before the Rhode Island General Assembly adjourned for 2024, Tanzi\u2019s bill to force Bally\u2019s Lincoln and Tiverton to go smoke-free passed a House committee. (Image: Boston Globe<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bally\u2019s brass continued to stress that forcing their casino floors to go entirely smoke-free<\/a> would devastate gaming revenue. That, they claim, would result in job layoffs and less tax money for the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Bally\u2019s Twin River Lincoln and Bally\u2019s Tiverton facilitate slot-like video lottery terminals (VLTs) on the Rhode Island Lottery\u2019s behalf. The state collects roughly 60% of the gross income.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Legislation to force the two casinos to extinguish indoor tobacco smoking<\/a> failed yet again in the Providence capital. But the evening before the state Senate and House of Representatives adjourned for 2024, members of a House committee provided hope for casino smoking opponents that 2025 will finally be the year gaming floors go smoke-free.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ceremonial Vote<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

House Bill 7500 was introduced in February by Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D-South Kingstown), a former smoker who has been championing efforts in Providence to extend the state\u2019s Public Health and Workplace Safety Act that banned indoor smoking in most businesses and public places to the Bally\u2019s properties. Nine Democrats co-sponsored the partisan measure.<\/span><\/p>\n

HB 7500 was directed to the House Finance Committee where the statute was considered on May 3. The committee members, despite being controlled 13-2 by Democrats, motioned to hold the bill \u201cfor further study\u201d of the economic impacts such an enactment would create for the Lincoln and Tiverton casinos.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

While no study was completed, 10 Democratic members of the Finance Committee voted unanimously on the evening of June 13 to pass the measure. The symbolic gesture, Tanzi said, \u201cshows we\u2019re fully aware of everything [casino] workers have been saying.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Rhode Island chapter of CEASE \u2014 Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects \u2014 though disappointed that 2024 repeated history in not forcing the Bally\u2019s casinos to usher smokers outside, acknowledged that the committee vote could provide momentum to get a casino smoking bill over the finish line in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bally\u2019s Corp. shareholders in May rejected a proposal<\/a> from an investor that requested the company conduct a comprehensive review of how business would be impacted if all all of its casinos were to eliminate indoor smoking. Bally\u2019s had encouraged shareholders to vote against the \u201cunwarranted and unreasonable\u201d pitch.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bally\u2019s Wins<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Along with retaining smoking at its two casinos, Bally\u2019s successfully lobbied state lawmakers to allow the Lincoln and Tiverton casinos to extend higher credit lines<\/a> to VIPs and high rollers. At the request of the casino company, Sen. President Dominick Ruggerio (D-North Providence) led Senate Bill 3040 through the legislature.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bill would allow Bally\u2019s to issue $100K in cash<\/a> to qualified players, up from the current $50K cap. The Senate signed off on the measure in early June and the House approved the statute on June 11.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

SB 3040 has since been forwarded to Gov. Daniel McKee\u2019s (D) desk. The governor hasn\u2019t yet acted on the casino credit amendment but is expected to allow the measure to become law.<\/span><\/p>\n

The post Rhode Island Casino Smoking Opponents Hope to Clear the Air in 2025<\/a> appeared first on Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rhode Island is home to the Bally\u2019s Corporation, which holds a monopoly on casino operations in the state. The 2024 legislative session saw the gaming firm dealt winning legislative hands before the General Assembly adjourned for the year last week. Rhode Island Rep. Teresa Tanzi in 2022 poses with casino smoking opponents in the Providence…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2100"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2103,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100\/revisions\/2103"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}