Arlington Bingo Halls Fear a Smoking Ban would hurt Charities

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Arlington city council is considering an all-out ban on smoking, in every public building. The city already bans smoking in restaurants and most public building, but there are some exceptions. One of those exceptions: bingo halls. Bingo halls generate money for charity. They're worried if Arlington bans smoking, smokers will take their bingo cash to nearby cities where they can smoke. "It's one of the friendliest bingo places in Arlington. We just love to have the people in," said Lauren Stubbs of the Grand Prairie Moose Lodge.

 The lodge holds bingo every Sunday. It raises about $1,000 each week for charity. This sunday, there was a haze hanging over the games, and we're not just talking about the smoke. "It's just a habit. Gambling and cigarettes go together kind of thing," said Stubbs. The moose lodge is worried bingo may go bust. Bingo chairman Tim Warner says 85% of their players smoke. If they can't smoke at the lodge, he's worried they'll take their bingo business elsewhere. "I can possibly see it would kill bingo," said Warner. "As a smoker, I will personally still come to support what we do, but most smokers will probably go somewhere else," said Stubbs.

 "Anybody who ever says 'my business was hurt because smoking was banned,' you gotta ask them what else were you offering besides a place to smoke, if that really happened?" said David Fusco, Executive Director of Arlington Citizens for Clean Air (ACCA). ACCA is the group behind the smoke-free push. "No one should ever have to breath smoke anywhere, anytime, any place. It's unhealthy. It kills people and it kills and awful lot of people," said Fusco. In March, Fusco fired off a letter to Mayor Robert Cluck, asking that the city prohibit smoking in all public places and workplaces. Soon, a city council committee will consider it.

If passed, it would essentially clear the air at the Moose Lodge. The lodge just hopes a ban doesn't also clear the seats. "I'm hoping that the folks who love us for who we are will still continue to come back," said Stubbs. If Arlington outlaws smoking in workplaces, according to ACCA, it would join 30 other cities in Texas with comprehensive smoking bans. In north Texas, that list includes Benbrook, Dallas, Flower Mound, Granbury, Mckinney, Plano, and Southlake.