It's been about a month since the Montana Clear Indoor Act took effect in bars, casinos and restaurants across the Treasure State. According to a Billings gaming distributor, gambling revenues are down 16% to 18% across the state.
On October 1st, the Reno Club in Billings joined hundreds of others businesses in going smoke-free. Now that the smoke has cleared, businesses are taking a hard look at the bottom line.
"My gambling is down about 20% and that could be recession, it could be the weather, it could be just about anything," Reno Club owner John Blair said.
Blair has been the owner of the Reno Club for 35 years and says many people are still upset over the law and may be boycotting businesses.
"There's a lot of people that are angry. A lot of the gamblers are angry and they don't like it, it was a rights issue to begin with," Blair said.
He says, although he has taken a hit in his gambling revenues, his bar and liquor sales remain steady. Others, he says, aren't as lucky.
"Casinos that are just casinos have felt a little bit more of a hit, then maybe some of the bars or lounges that people like to go to."
He believes right now there's a social trend to quit smoking.
"It's 70% non-smoking and 30% smokers, so there are more people that like to go out to the bars and not have that smell of cigarettes. So we are getting new customers because of that. Now that times have got tough you have to be a little more creative to get business to come in," Blair said.
He says despite the decrease in revenue, he's happy his club is now smoke free.
"I'm in here 7 days a week, so I'm not breathing the cigarette smoke. I'm glad for my employees because they don't have to breathe it and I'm glad for my customers because they don't have to breathe it."
And Blair says it may take a few more months for businesses to really know how hard they've been hit by not being able to light up.
