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Bingo: Bingo Players Not Ready to Give Up Cigarettes
CEDAR RAPIDS - Gamblers at Iowa casinos can keep their cigarettes, but
come this summer, bingo halls could be smoke-free. Thursday night was
the first bingo night at Hawkeye Downs since both the Iowa house and
Senate passed a smoking ban. If Governor Culver signs it into law,
smoking would be banned in nearly every public building in Iowa.
Bingo is a Thursday night ritual at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids. Hundreds fill the hall for hours. While some are new, most of the faces are familiar.
"I've played bingo for years and years," says Brenda Anderson.
Bingo night goes beyond a competition. It's a social outing, a chance to catch up with friends.
"The majority of us here smoke," says Angela Meyers.
And the majority here doesn't agree with the state's bill to ban smoking.
Stinks that smoke-free signs could be posted everywhere inside come July, not just in the corner.
"I suppose I could live with it but I don't think it's right," says Jeane Turner.
Whether it's right or not, bingo halls across Iowa will have to comply if Governor Culver signs the bill. Many smokers there say bingo night is such a tradition they'll play without their cigarettes, and a few in the crowd say they would welcome a smoke-free game night.
"My girls worry about me taking in second-hand smoke, and I'm excited because I get to do what I enjoy doing, play bingo and not worry about smoke," says Anderson.
All Anderson would have to worry about is shouting bingo. With about three months until the state likely snuffs out cigarettes at bingo halls, smokers at Hawkeye Downs will light up as usual. And non-smokers say they will wait patiently for a possible change in the air.
Again, Governor Culver still has to approve the bill, but his spokesman says he looks forward to signing it.
Written by Claire Kellett
www.kcrg.com
Bingo is a Thursday night ritual at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids. Hundreds fill the hall for hours. While some are new, most of the faces are familiar.
"I've played bingo for years and years," says Brenda Anderson.
Bingo night goes beyond a competition. It's a social outing, a chance to catch up with friends.
"The majority of us here smoke," says Angela Meyers.
And the majority here doesn't agree with the state's bill to ban smoking.
Stinks that smoke-free signs could be posted everywhere inside come July, not just in the corner.
"I suppose I could live with it but I don't think it's right," says Jeane Turner.
Whether it's right or not, bingo halls across Iowa will have to comply if Governor Culver signs the bill. Many smokers there say bingo night is such a tradition they'll play without their cigarettes, and a few in the crowd say they would welcome a smoke-free game night.
"My girls worry about me taking in second-hand smoke, and I'm excited because I get to do what I enjoy doing, play bingo and not worry about smoke," says Anderson.
All Anderson would have to worry about is shouting bingo. With about three months until the state likely snuffs out cigarettes at bingo halls, smokers at Hawkeye Downs will light up as usual. And non-smokers say they will wait patiently for a possible change in the air.
Again, Governor Culver still has to approve the bill, but his spokesman says he looks forward to signing it.
Written by Claire Kellett
www.kcrg.com
