Bill would eliminate AC cocktail servers’ gag order

John Curran

Wednesday, June 12, 2002 | 11:17 a.m.

ATLANTIC CITY -- When cocktail server Tina Jennetta walks the aisles between slot parlors at the Tropicana Casino and Resort, gamblers know exactly what she's offering.

She's just not allowed to say it out loud.

"Coffee?" she asks. "Juice?"

If it's Scotch, beer, wine or a cocktail you want, just ask. The liquor is free, as long as you're gambling. But under New Jersey casino law, Jennetta can't mention alcohol or offer it in her solicitation.

Soon, that may change.

A deregulation bill making its way through the Legislature would allow casino cocktail servers to say "cocktail" or use other words connoting alcoholic beverages.

"This is how people in the hospitality industry normally address someone, when their function is the delivery of some form of beverage," the bill's co-sponsor, state Sen. William L. Gormley, said. "They want to be able to talk like any other beverage server in the country."

Indeed, Las Vegas casinos have no such restriction. "Cocktails?" is their cocktail servers' come-on.

New Jersey's subtle language distinction dates to 1977, when the framers of the Casino Control Act fashioned a series of restrictions aimed at protecting gamblers.

Some limited casinos' hours of operation, banned the advertising of odds and required hotels to build their casino areas so that they couldn't be seen from outside.

The idea behind the alcohol solicitation ban was to prevent casinos from plying customers with booze in hopes they would continue gambling and lose more money.

But 24 years after the first casino opened here, many of New Jersey's strictest rules have been stricken from the books. Casinos are open 24 hours now. Odds advertising is permitted. The ban on casino visibility also has been dropped.

Now, some say, it's time to eliminate the gag on cocktail servers.

"The reason for the Casino Control Act is to maintain integrity," Gormley said. "What we want to do is look at arcane rules that no one can recall why they're there. If there's no relationship to integrity, and no one can make the case, we thought it was appropriate to let (servers) list the options."

At least one study has shown that gamblers are more likely to keep playing if they are drinking alcohol.

A 1998 study by two University of Western Sydney in Australia researchers found that gamblers who had had three alcoholic drinks spent twice as long gambling as their tee-totaling counterparts, and half played until they were out of money.

Among the non-drinkers, 15 percent gambled away all their money.

Casino industry expert William Thompson said it's no secret casinos like to keep gamblers well-oiled. It's "psychological persuasion," but there's nothing wrong with it, he said.

"It's part of the industry," said Thompson, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor and author of books about gambling.

"It's why grocery stores put the National Enquirer at the cash register and cereal makers sell their product in big yellow boxes, so people will grab for it. It's psychological persuasion," he said.

Edward Looney, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, doesn't want a change.

"This will affect compulsive gamblers and problem gamblers, who will drink a little heavier because it's being offered," Looney said. "By saying it specifically, that lends itself to promoting the alcohol more so than the other drinks," he said.

Gamblers have mixed reviews for the would-be change.

"They shouldn't ask you if you want booze," said Gino Black, 69, of Bel Air, Md., a slot player at Trump Plaza. "If a guy gets loaded, he'll just keep playing his money."

But Barbara Brown, 40, of Philadelphia, a slot player at Bally's Atlantic City, said she favors a change.

"Not everyone's here to drink coffee or juice. They should let you know what they have," she said.