St. Paul Pioneer Press | 08/16/2006 | Smoking ban might have hurt charities

St. Paul Pioneer Press 08/16/2006 Smoking ban might have hurt charities:

"According to the Minnesota Gambling Control Board, charitable gambling revenue � most of which comes from pull-tabs � was down 36 percent during the first two months of the ban, which went into effect March 31.
Proceeds dropped from $8.7 million in April and May 2005 to $5.5 million for the same months in 2006. Because pull-tabs are mainly sold in bars, that revenue often is seen as an indicator of how well the establishments are doing.
'Officially, the board is neutral on the (smoking ban) policy, but we have seen the impact,' said Tom Barrett, executive director of the state Gambling Control Board."