Charitable bingo halls hope to get smoking ban exemption
LOUISVILLE (WAVE) -- WAVE 3 investigates how some places are trying to get out of a new smoking ban in Louisville. The operators and charities that get money from bingo halls say a new ban will put them out of business. Only WAVE 3 was at a meeting Wednesday where they talked strategy. WAVE 3 Investigator Janelle MacDonald has a look at some of the numbers.
In Kentucky, bingo is only allowed to make money for charities. To keep their license, each charity has to make 40 percent. Many say under the smoking ban before -- and if it comes back -- there's no way they can do that.
Dan Langford owns a magazine that caters to bingo. He says, "Sometimes you just have to stand up for your rights."
A group of bingo hall owners and the charities that operate the games say that is what they're doing.
"We have to fight somehow," says Langford. "We just can't lay down and die."
Langford doesn't smoke. He quit 25 years ago. But Langford says if others can't smoke at bingo halls, it's bad for business because he says, "They want to come and game here, have a good time, relax."
Langford says he has numbers to prove it. For instance, one local charity operated a Tuesday night bingo. Its numbers show in the third quarter of 2006, it made $6,200. After the smoking ban this year, it lost $8,000. The total swing in profit is more than $14,000.
That charity shut down its bingo at one location and says it may have to at another site as well.
Langford says, "It just shows you that the people want to smoke and gamble."
The group hoped to get that point across Wednesday to the Metro Council, but Langford says, "We had one show up. Everyone was invited. Do they have their mind made up already? Seems like it."
Robin Engel was the only council member. He says that's probably true, but the charities numbers could make a difference.
"The pulse of the council right now looks very favorable at the previous smoking ban, but I believe that the facts and the numbers about the loss of revenue by charitable causes, charitable bingos are coming out and that, those numbers the council has not been privy to," Engel says.
WAVE 3 checked and found Engel voted in favor of the ban each time it's been before the council but he says he's worked with charitable bingo in the past and supports what they do in the community.
The bingo group plans on airing radio ads, starting Thursday, encouraging their supporters to call their council members.
The Health and Human Services committee is scheduled to hear the revised smoking ban Monday, January 7th. Committee chair Mary Woodridge says there will be no public comment at that meeting.
WAVE 3 will be there for that meeting and will continue to cover this story for you as it develops.
Online Producer: Charles Gazaway Online Reporter: Janelle MacDonald
