Jump to full article: Great Falls (MT) Tribune, 2010-03-21
Author: ERIN MADSION Tribune Staff Writer
Intro: But when the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act, which outlaws smoking in enclosed public places, went into full effect Oct. 1, Romanchuk saw business drop off significantly.
"Now it's just more like a hobby," he said. "It's barely making ends meet."
Just up the road, the Tracy Bar is seeing the same thing.
"It's affected us horribly," said LeeAnn Pond, who has worked at the bar for about a decade. "The gaming is way down. It's slowing us way down." . . .
There's no evidence that rural areas have been hit harder than Montana's cities, said Rick Ask, administrator of the Montana Gambling Control Division.
"Most everybody dropped quite a bit," he said. "We are seeing it both in rural areas and in the cities."
Some counties in northcentral Montana have seen larger drops in gambling than others.
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