2008 Woodie Awards
Bingo venues eye smoking ban warily
Lauren Sieben - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: Metro
When longtime bingo player Verona Ruiz sits down for a game, she does it with a bingo card in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
"I don't know why other people do, but I like to smoke and play bingo at the same time," Ruiz said. "I just enjoy smoking."
Ruiz isn't alone - among the usual crowd of bingo players at the Eagle Club, 225 Highway 1, bingo manager Steve Poggenpohl estimates that around 60 percent are smokers.
But when the Iowa smoking ban takes effect July 1, smokers will have to step outside if they want to light up.
Bingo venues in states with bans in place have already seen a sharp decrease in revenue. Now that Iowa has adopted a statewide ban, many organizations that rely on bingo as a source of revenue worry that they will face a similar fate.
Renee Smith, bingo chairwoman at American Legion Post No. 5 in Cedar Rapids, said she hopes the ban will bring in a new wave of nonsmokers.
"We could possibly gain more [players] who don't smoke," she said. "It's going to be iffy."
Players such as Ruiz and Connie Watkinson said they will continue to show up for games at the Eagle Club after the ban takes effect, although they disagree with the legislation.
"I can go without a cigarette for that long, but I think there will be some that won't come back," Watkinson said. "A section for nonsmokers is what I think they should have."
Poggenpohl anticipates that around 10 percent of the 110 bingo players the Eagle Club sees on an average night will stop coming, but he expects a loyal base of regular players will continue coming even after the ban.
"There's not that much bingo in Iowa City," he said, adding that the Eagle Club is one of the only local bingo venues. "It's just the people that don't come very often, maybe they won't come back."
The club is a part of the international nonprofit organization the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The group raises money through fish fries, bingo games, and other means for both local and national organizations. Former Eagle Club President Chuck Wendler said the group donated $72,639 to Iowa City charities and organizations in 2007.
"[Bingo] is one of our biggest sources of giving to charity because every dime we make off of it we give to charity," said Eagle Club trustee and former President Dale O'Brien.
Smith and trustees at the Eagle Club agree that the smoking-ban legislation should include exceptions for private clubs and organizations. The legislation bans smoking in all public places except for gambling floors in casinos.
"[Government officials] have just gone crazy," Wendler said. "If you're a smoker now, you're a low-class citizen."
Darlene Wichman, the owner and president of Wichman Bingo Supplies in Hiawatha, Iowa, worries that the ban will also have adverse effects on her business.
"When I have to start increasing my prices to try to stay alive here, then [bingo venues] have to increase theirs, and then what do you do?" she said.
E-mail DI reporter Lauren Sieben at:
lauren-sieben@uiowa.edu
"I don't know why other people do, but I like to smoke and play bingo at the same time," Ruiz said. "I just enjoy smoking."
Ruiz isn't alone - among the usual crowd of bingo players at the Eagle Club, 225 Highway 1, bingo manager Steve Poggenpohl estimates that around 60 percent are smokers.
But when the Iowa smoking ban takes effect July 1, smokers will have to step outside if they want to light up.
Bingo venues in states with bans in place have already seen a sharp decrease in revenue. Now that Iowa has adopted a statewide ban, many organizations that rely on bingo as a source of revenue worry that they will face a similar fate.
Renee Smith, bingo chairwoman at American Legion Post No. 5 in Cedar Rapids, said she hopes the ban will bring in a new wave of nonsmokers.
"We could possibly gain more [players] who don't smoke," she said. "It's going to be iffy."
Players such as Ruiz and Connie Watkinson said they will continue to show up for games at the Eagle Club after the ban takes effect, although they disagree with the legislation.
"I can go without a cigarette for that long, but I think there will be some that won't come back," Watkinson said. "A section for nonsmokers is what I think they should have."
Poggenpohl anticipates that around 10 percent of the 110 bingo players the Eagle Club sees on an average night will stop coming, but he expects a loyal base of regular players will continue coming even after the ban.
"There's not that much bingo in Iowa City," he said, adding that the Eagle Club is one of the only local bingo venues. "It's just the people that don't come very often, maybe they won't come back."
The club is a part of the international nonprofit organization the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The group raises money through fish fries, bingo games, and other means for both local and national organizations. Former Eagle Club President Chuck Wendler said the group donated $72,639 to Iowa City charities and organizations in 2007.
"[Bingo] is one of our biggest sources of giving to charity because every dime we make off of it we give to charity," said Eagle Club trustee and former President Dale O'Brien.
Smith and trustees at the Eagle Club agree that the smoking-ban legislation should include exceptions for private clubs and organizations. The legislation bans smoking in all public places except for gambling floors in casinos.
"[Government officials] have just gone crazy," Wendler said. "If you're a smoker now, you're a low-class citizen."
Darlene Wichman, the owner and president of Wichman Bingo Supplies in Hiawatha, Iowa, worries that the ban will also have adverse effects on her business.
"When I have to start increasing my prices to try to stay alive here, then [bingo venues] have to increase theirs, and then what do you do?" she said.
E-mail DI reporter Lauren Sieben at:
lauren-sieben@uiowa.edu
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Cigar Bill
posted 5/02/08 @ 9:02 AM CST
Being the occasional cigar smoker the ban isn't going to be as hard on me as some but it will change my habits... If I go play bingo, billiards, bowling, etc. (Continued…)
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