Atlantic City casinos are still fighting back against a proposed smoking ban arguing the rule would put them at a competitive disadvantage to casinos in neighboring states but current and former Casino workers continued their desperate pleas for Action from lawmakers today at a joint legislative Hearing in Trenton saying they're being forced to choose between their health and a paycheck Ted Goldberg reports every day I fear is this a day that I will inhale that cloud of smoke that will give me cancer Casino workers packed into Trenton today continuing the debate on whether New Jersey should include casinos in its indoor smoking ban some of them testified while recovering from cancer I went for a biopsy and it turned out that I had a nodule of cancer I just had it removed as you can see this isn't a necklace it's a surgical scar I'm out on a medical leave now I don't want to leave my job but all of the oncologists involved have told me that it's the choice of life or death at this point last year I was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer while I'm not sure we will never know the exact cause of my illness I can't help but wonder if it would have been if we had would not have happened if I had not worked in the casinos the bill on the table has a Litany of co-sponsors and allies that argue casinos never should have been Exempted from New Jersey's smoke-free Air Act of 2006. there is no basis in common sense for some 20 000 new jerseyans working in Atlantic City casinos and the customers they serve daily to be victims of a loophole that treats them as second-class Citizens when it comes to their health as much as I wanted to walk out I couldn't just quit I had a baby coming and a family to support even today I can't help but wonder if my daughter's heart condition and my son's chronic allergies are a result of the secondhand smoke exposure I had to endure while pregnant other Casino workers oppose the ban saying it'll cost jobs one employee says workarounds could be a quick fix things such as dedicated High vac systems ventilation systems Smoke Eaters purification systems smokeless tables things of that nature some others say the timing isn't right and think the ban should come later we are potentially on the brink of a recession our governor himself has said that that's something to continue consider we should never be doing any kind of public policy that could hurt the businesses that could be facing a recession just generally speaking I still I'm not working full-time after 2020 I want my job I need my job and I need to work this is a danger to my members and their jobs Bob McDevitt is the president of Unite Here Local 54. the union that represents Casino workers he stated that the ban should come after Pennsylvania banned smoking in its casinos if not he's afraid it would be disastrous to Atlantic City if this bill passes then one Casino will close there will be a 10 percent well you can laugh all you want you're not going to laugh when you get laid off what we're doing at this point is at the expense of workers we're projecting doom on Atlantic City Doom it's not a good argument now we're going to put this additional burden on the people that we have left you can't even get people to work in these places Governor Murphy has said in the past that he would sign this bill if the legislature passes it and sends it to his desk in Trenton I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight News