Illinois Smoking Ban Disaster: Casino Sees Huge Drop in Revenue

BND.com reports:

The Casino Queen's business is down, and it blames Illinois' smoking ban.

Initially, the $92 million new casino, which opened last summer on the East St. Louis riverfront, saw revenues increase from the smaller boat, but business has declined since Jan. 1 when the state's ban on smoking in public places took effect.

"It's been devastating," said casino manager Tom Monaghan, who has seen fewer gamblers on the new "boat in a moat" and fears more are going to new nearby competing casinos across the river in Missouri, where gamblers still can smoke.

"It was like flipping a switch, with the new smoking bill," he said.

According to Monaghan, revenue jumped 25 percent --to $18 million --after the new casino opened in July and stabilized at $17 million during the following months. In January, when the new law went into effect, the casino's revenues fell to $13 million a month. He said February's revenues bottomed out at $14 million, and March is projected to be the same.

I guess Illinois wants to give away its' casino business.