Let's get one thing clear: Smoking is a noxious habit that's likely to kill you and certain to alienate other people, in my opinion. (I had two grandparents who smoked until the air turned blue, then smoked some more, which may explain my antipathy to the, uh, pastime.)<\/p>\n
But …<\/b> not smoking appears to be bad for the health of casinos, at least in Illinois<\/b>. April's numbers are out and they're down over 19% — far more than can be plausibly blamed on the recession. For instance:<\/p>\n
The biggest loser:<\/b> It's Penn National<\/b>'s Alton Belle<\/span><\/i>, off by 27%, with an $8 million gross. The rest of the results, as reported by Bear Stearns<\/b> are as follows (with gross gaming $, when available) …<\/p>\n Harrah's Joliet<\/i>: -18% ($26.4 million)<\/p>\n Grand Victoria<\/i> [MGM Mirage<\/b>]: -18%<\/p>\n Hollywood Casino<\/i> [Penn National]: -20%<\/p>\n Empress Joliet<\/span><\/i> [" "]: -26% <\/p>\n Casino Queen<\/i>: -5.3%<\/p>\n Harrah's Metropolis<\/i>: -25.5% ($9.8 million)<\/p>\n Pair-A-Dice<\/i> [Boyd Gaming<\/b>]: -16% ($9.7 million)<\/p>\n Illinois' smoking ban went into effect Jan.1 and things clearly haven't been the same since.<\/p>\n This Just In …<\/b> Sheldon Adelson is stubborn<\/a>. Who knew?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let's get one thing clear: Smoking is a noxious habit that's likely to kill you and certain to alienate other people, in my opinion. (I had two grandparents who smoked until the air turned blue, then smoked some more, which … Continue reading