Bingo halls want an exemption, too

John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 17, 2006 at midnight

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A group of bingo hall operators have banded together to seek an exemption from a statewide workplace smoking ban, which they claim could snuff out their business.

About 30 members of the Colorado Charitable Bingo Association and a few representatives from the nonprofits they help support held a strategy session Thursday night at the Berkeley Community Church.

They are upset because the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, which won approval in the state House earlier this month, granted an exemption to the state's casinos, tobacco stores and up to 25 percent of a hotel's rooms.

Bingo players are gamblers, too, the parlor operators contend. If they can't smoke while playing bingo, they'll head for the hills to Colorado's casinos in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek.

"We'll be dead," said Larry Stallcup, president of the Bingo Mine Inc. in Lafayette and a former Lafayette police chief. "I don't know how many halls and nonprofits can survive. If they put us on an even playing field, we've got a fighting chance."

Stallcup came to the meeting with Bob Ross, financial officer for American Legion Post 111 in Louisville. Ross said revenue from bingo parlors statewide helps defray the cost of insurance and uniforms for the American Legion's youth baseball leagues.

"It means a lot to the service organizations," he said.

At the meeting, the group listened to lobbyist Corky Kyle outline a strategy to amend the bill when it reaches the Senate Judiciary Committee to give the same exemption to bingo halls that casinos received.

Kyle told the bingo operators that the stakes are high.

"This is a serious thing," he said. "Because if we don't have the commitment, let's have some more cake and cookies, clean up and send your licenses in."

Bingo operators say their charity games have declined significantly since the advent of legalized casino gambling in the state. They say there were 900 bingo halls operating year-round in 1990, but only about 250 are still in business.

Kyle urged the operators to write and call lawmakers and to seek help from the groups they help support.

Other groups are seeking exemptions, too, but none of them can claim that they are helping to support community nonprofits, he said.

"What makes us special is the fact that we're nonprofit," he said. "Trust me, this is an election year. These people don't want to be known for closing down the Arvada soccer league."

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