SEC Filing Reveals 81% of Caesars Shareholders Oppose Smoking Ban Research

The fight to ban smoking completely in Atlantic City casinos is still ongoing. A lawsuit against the area casinos is awaiting a Superior Court ruling. With a decision not yet made, some opinions have been passed from both shareholders of Caesars and Bally’s Corp as well as Trinity Health. 

Caesars and Bally’s Corp shareholders own four of the nine casinos in the area, as well as several NJ online casinos, and they are against proposals to research the impact of banning smoking in areas throughout the casinos where play happens. 

Trinity Health, a nonprofit healthcare company that’s also a shareholder of several companies within the gaming industry, proposed that they’d commission research for it. Both Trinity and the Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation have said that by the casinos allowing smoking indoors, they could see a rise in employee health insurance premiums and maintenance costs. They also mentioned that they could see a decline in customers who don’t want to interact with second-hand smoke while playing. 

The proposal from Trinity Health was denied, and Caesars mentioned it wouldn’t be a good use of their resources. 

“We take the health of all our customers seriously, and when we allow smoking in certain designated areas of our properties, we also take steps to help protect the health of our nonsmoking customers,” the Caesars board of directors wrote in a message to shareholders.

81% of Caesars Annual Meeting Votes Oppose the Research

Additionally, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing said that over 81% of votes during the Caesars annual meeting in June opposed the proposal.

Caesars operates three casinos in Atlantic City: Caesars, Harrah’s, and Tropicana. Bally’s, of course, owns Bally’s. 

While there were overwhelming votes in opposition, Cynthia Hallett, the CEO of the Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, remains optimistic. She cited Boyd Gaming’s 22% shareholder support for the research. However, Boyd Gaming doesn’t own any Atlantic City casinos. 

“We’ve established an incredibly strong foundation from which to build,” Hallett said. “Most proposals don’t even make it to a vote, let alone reach double-digit-level support. With this issue now reaching the boardroom, companies cannot hide from this important matter that affects the health and well-being of their employees and guests,” said Hallett. 

This news comes roughly a month after a Superior Court judge heard arguments for a ban after Atlantic City casino employees filed a lawsuit. The plaintiff employees cited that casino floors are a “toxic” environment. 

The state argued that a ban would result in job and revenue losses. The New Jersey attorney general and UNITE Here Local 54, a union representing 10,000 employees, want the suit dismissed. 

The Superior Court Judge, Patrick Bartels, heard these arguments in May and mentioned he wanted to give a ruling “as quickly as possible.”