LAS VEGAS, NV -- Revenue has dropped at many taverns - as much as 30 percent in some locations - because of a decline in customers, shooed away by the state smoking ban in establishments that serve food.

The prohibition against smoking, which took effect in January, sent gamblers who want to light up while playing slot machines to traditional casinos or one of the few taverns built before 1992 that have 35 slot machines and are exempt because the businesses were classified as casinos.

"There are a lot more challenges for an operator than ever before," said Joseph Wilcock, president of the Nevada Tavern Owners Association.

Wilcock estimates that 75 of the association's roughly 300 members gave up food service to keep their gambling and smoking patrons. Most of the membership, he said, is complying with the smoking ban "but are losing their shirts."

None, Wilcock said, wanted to give up the moneymaking slot machines.

Roger Sachs, co-owner of the three Las Vegas-area Steiner's taverns, said friendly service, good food and a lively atmosphere help keep customers from taking their business to a more traditional restaurant.

Sachs said the gambling devices made Steiner's three locations profitable.

Since January, however, revenues from the slot machines are off 29 percent to 35 percent at each location.

"We probably do as well on food as anybody because that's something we wanted to establish," Sachs said. "But other places might take a monthly loss of $10,000 on food, but made it up with the gaming. That's not the case now because the business is not there."

Herbst Gaming is Nevada's largest slot route operator with approximately 7,200 slot machines in 700 locations throughout the state.

In the third quarter, Herbst said revenues from the company's route operations were $66.1 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, a 21 percent drop over the same period in 2006.

For the first nine months of 2007, Herbst's slot route operations generated $212.5 million, 19 percent less than the same nine-month period in 2006.

"There is no question the smoking ban had a dramatic impact on our route operations and has fundamentally changed the slot route industry," Herbst Gaming President Ed Herbst told gaming analysts following the earnings release.

United Coin Machine, which operates about 6,000 machines in more than 400 locations statewide, is experiencing similar losses in revenue.

United Coin President Grant Lincoln said the smoking ban created an uneven playing field for the tavern operators, who don't have the promotional budgets to match the customer incentives offered by the large casinos.

"There's not a lot we can do," Lincoln said. "As their volume suffers, our volume suffers. The question is, have we truly bottomed out? The smoking issue has been a fairly crushing blow for the average tavern operator."

COLUMBIA, MO -- When the Columbia City Council voted more than a year ago to pass an ordinance banning smoking in most public places, two business owners began their work to get it repealed.

Joel Thiel, co-owner of Otto’s Corner Bar & Grill, 38 N. Eighth St., and Betty Hamilton, owner of Tiger Club, 1116 Business Loop 70 E., showed the product of their efforts last week when they filed a petition with the city clerk’s office containing almost 3,000 signatures to repeal the ordinance.

"To me, this is not a smoking issue," Hamilton said. "This is a bar-owners’ rights issue."

Thiel and Hamilton said the ban on smoking, which the city enacted Jan. 9, unfairly takes away personal rights from residents as well as property rights from business owners. Thiel said many bars and restaurants, including his, have experienced a decrease in business since the ban. He said Otto’s is down 35 percent in sales for October compared with last year, which he attributes to the smoking ordinance.

"Even our regulars don’t come in near as much and don’t stay near as long, and I’ve heard from many that it’s because they don’t want to keep getting up to go outside to smoke," Thiel said.

City Clerk Sheela Amin said a petition to repeal an ordinance must have 2,579 signatures from qualified city voters to be considered valid. If the petition doesn’t have enough signatures, Amin said, Thiel and Hamilton will have 10 days to collect more.

The city is working with the Boone County clerk’s office to validate the signatures, and Amin hopes to finish by the end of this week.

If the petition is validated, an item to repeal the ordinance will come before the city council Nov. 19, and council members will most likely vote on it at their Dec. 3 meeting. If the city council votes against the petition, city voters will decide the issue in April.

Two new council members have joined the city council since it approved the smoking ordinance with a 4-3 vote on Oct. 10, 2006, citing public health concerns over second-hand smoke. However, both new members - Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala and Fourth Ward Councilman Jerry Wade - said they support the smoking ban. Two council members remain who voted against the ban, First Ward Councilwoman Almeta Crayton and Fifth Ward Councilwoman Laura Nauser.

Thiel said he would like to see the issue put to a vote to let the people decide.

"If we at least got a chance to vote on it, I could swallow it a lot easier," Thiel said.

Hamilton agreed. "The people should have voted on it, not seven people," she said, referring to the city council.

Thiel said about 11 other restaurants and bars helped get the petition signed. He reviewed each signature and crossed off at least 500 that didn’t appear to be from city voters. To be on the safe side, Thiel said, the petition contains about 400 more signatures than required.

Ironically, if the petition gets on the April ballot, neither Thiel nor Hamilton will get to vote; both of them live in the county.

Thiel and Hamilton, whose business has a patio, said the ban also gives bars and restaurants with patios an unfair advantage; the ordinance allows smoking on patios as long as 50 percent of the space is designated nonsmoking.

Skala said although he is in favor of the smoking ban, he agreed that businesses with patios do have an unfair advantage. "That’s the only problem I can see with it," Skala said. "I see this as a public health issue, which for me trumps the property rights issue."

NEWTON, KANSAS - The clean air ordinance brought community members as well as others to the usually scarcely attended Newton City Commission meeting Tuesday night.

The main statement people wanted to make against the clean air ordinance being considered by the commission that will ban smoking in public places was the local government was overstepping its boundaries and taking away the rights of the residents.

Others came to the podium to voice their concerns about the amount of business that would be lost if the ordinance is passed.

Tiara Boyd, manager of Prime Time, said she would lose business if smoking was prohibited in her convenience store.

"Many of the customers come in to play the lottery or lotto where they can smoke," she said. "We would lose our customers."

Not only do the customers smoke, but employees do as well, she said. Only one clerk is on duty at a time and going outside while customers are in the store is not an option.

"If smoke bothers you, you have the choice not to come to our store," Boyd said. "It’s not fair to ban something that is legal."

CJ’s Pancake owner, Charles Lanham, was at the meeting to again state he is against the city government telling him what he can do with his business in regards to smoking. He said people have a choice to come to his restaurant. People who don’t like smoking don’t have to patronize the establishment. Also on Sundays there is a non-smoking room in the back of the restaurant for people to use.

After several people voiced their objections to government regulating smoking, the issue went back to the commission for discussion.

People were willing to give their input against the ordinance, but a few were quick to leave once their piece was said.

The commission reviewed the ordinance by first looking at the general prohibition of enclosed public areas and places of employment. Enclosed public places is defined in the ordinance to mean the portion or portions of any building, structure or other enclosure to which the public is invited or permitted to perform business transactions or to engage in any activity. Examples given in the ordinance include retail stores, retail service establishments (restaurants and bars), professional offices, educational, health care, child care and adult day cares, and indoor recreational and sport facilities.

Enclosed places of employment is described as any enclosed space under the possession or control of a public or private employer where employees engage in employment-related and other necessary activities include work areas, lounges, dining and rest areas, restrooms, meeting rooms and hallways.

It will be recommended that business owners post no-smoking signs at their places of business.

Areas within 20 feet of public entrances to buildings and outdoor vendor areas, such as the farmer’s markets, also will have a 20-foot area around them in which smoking will be prohibited.

Other outside areas, such as concession stands, bleachers and restroom areas, were left out of the ordinance and smoking will be allowed in those areas.

Commissioner Ken Hall asked if fraternal organizations, such as the Eagle Lodge and American Legion, were considered public groups. After discussion that organizations like that ask for membership, fraternal organizations were left out of the ordinance. This means smoking will not be banned from those organizations’ gathering places.

Bars will become non-smoking if the ordinance passes.

Smoke shops, defined as businesses where the predominate product is tobacco and tobacco-related products, will have a non-smoking policy put in place in the ordinance if enacted.

Hotels and motels will be allowed to designate up to 25 percent of their rooms as smoking, if the business owner chooses to.

Private functions within public buildings will not be allowed to include lighting up a cigarette or other tobacco products.

"In summary, smoking will be banned from all restaurants, bars and retail businesses," Mayor Willis Heck said.

The commission will revisit the clean air ordinance at the next meeting after the changes are made to the ordinance. Violation ramifications will be addressed at the next meeting, as well as discussing the possibility of individual businesses being exempted from the ordinance based on objections by management to the proposed ordinance.