Bob CollinsMinnesota gets center-stage in the country’s newspaper of record today. A front-page New York Times article explores the reason why bingo parlors and charitable gambling efforts are stumbling badly.
“We’ve sponsored several baseball teams here in the past, but we can’t give as much now because the smoking ban has really reduced our revenue,” said Charlie Lindstrom at the American Legion in Fergus Falls.” The same appears to be true at charity bingo locations in California, new Jersey, New York, and Washington.
Proponents of the smoking ban suggest everyone just suck it up.
“Around the country, whenever places have put in smoking bans, there is a six-month period where there is a drop in business in bars and restaurants, which where this gambling takes place, and after that, it starts to rebound,” said Rep. Tom Huntley, DFL-Duluth.
That should be any minute now. The smoking ban took effect six months ago next week.
What’s happening on News Cut today: I’m working on putting together a series of presentations with women veterans of World War II. I’ve got one interview scheduled for early this afternoon. Maybe I can turn it around by tonight; we’ll see. There’ll be an event honoring the women veterans next month. More on that later. And you? What’s on your mind today?
