Completely gone.” Here’s his full quote, which you can also listen to here at around the 9:15 mark: The paper quoted Senator Vince Polistina, who represents Atlantic City and thousands of casino workers, saying that “the legislation could come up for a vote within the next month or two.”Īdditionally, reporter David Danzis of Play NJ, who has covered the Atlantic City gaming industry for years, said on a radio show this morning that “smoking in casinos is on life support…we’re talking weeks if not months, smoking in Atlantic City casinos is just gonna be done. The Press of Atlantic City reported on six state senators re-introducing bipartisan legislation to close the casino smoking loophole yesterday. Completely Gone.”Ĭontact: City, NJ – The fight to make Atlantic City casinos smokefree indoors to protect workers from dangerous secondhand smoke is reaching a critical stage as a new legislative session begins in New Jersey this week. I really do.“We’re Talking Weeks, If Not Months, Smoking in Atlantic City Casinos is Just Gonna be Done. "You can't say, 'You're not important enough to come to our facility during its peak periods.' I want to embrace this community because I love them. "I believe love is the most powerful force in the universe, and when you believe that, you have to welcome everyone," he said. But it also coincided with the debut of a drag show, "Believe - Divas In A Man's World," that the casino is presenting. Gomes chose Thursday night to open Prohibition without announcing it in advance, in part because the club just got its permits to open several hours before. And many of the Vegas strip casinos host gay nights on Sundays, or pool parties at certain times. In Las Vegas, the Krave nightclub at the Planet Hollywood casino is a full-time gay club. The city also hosts a drag queen spoof on the now-departed Miss America pageant, called "Miss'd America" that draws gay tourists from around the country. The four Caesars Entertainment casinos in Atlantic City - Harrah's Resort Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, Bally's Atlantic City and the Showboat Casino Hotel - have hosted "Out In Atlantic City" weekends in recent years, and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort hosts "gay bingo" nights.
Why do cruise lines have gay weeks? Because 2,000 to 3,000 gay people who can afford it go on their ships. "People think gays don't gamble," Schultz said. But he and Hill, his longtime partner, helped talk new Resorts owner Dennis Gomes into opening a permanent gay bar in the casino. He sold his last business, Studio Six, five years ago. "Who could afford to open a gay bar anymore?" Schultz said. Back then, he said, 250,000 gay visitors would come to Atlantic City on holiday weekends.īut when casino gambling arrived, land values soared and developers bought up - and knocked down - old hotels that contained many gay nightspots. John Schultz, a former city councilman and philanthropist, once owned nine gay clubs during the 1970s. But this is what this community wants and needs."Ītlantic City has long been popular with gays, dating back before New Jersey's first casino - Resorts - opened in 1978. "They'd do a weekend or a night or hold a special event.
"A lot of casinos have done things for the gay and lesbian community, but never to this level," he said. "I think it's going to work," said Gary Hill, executive director of the Metropolitan Business & Citizens Association and a leader in the city's gay community.
Its name is a play on the casino's new roaring '20s theme, inspired by the HBO series "Boardwalk Empire" about Prohibition-era Atlantic City.įriday afternoon, a few hours before the club would open for the night, the colored lights were flashing, four giant palm trees scraped the ceiling and Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" played on a giant video screen. Prohibition is housed in a 13th floor room that used to be a lounge for slots players. With the rainbow flag flying outside and all the energy in here, it felt like a celebration." "It filled right up and people danced until 3 o'clock in the morning. "It's long overdue for Atlantic City to have a club like this," said Joel Ballesteros, the casino's new director of marketing for the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender communities. Prohibition opened its doors Thursday at the Resorts Casino Hotel, marking the city's strongest bid yet in a yearslong effort to attract one of the tourism industry's most sought-after demographic groups. For the first time in its 33-year history of legalized gambling, Atlantic City has a permanent gay nightclub in one of its casinos.