Hall County keno sales are down

Hall County keno wagering dropped 32 percent in June -- a decrease officials are attributing to Grand Island's new smoking ban.

"At first blush, I think it's a knee-jerk reaction to the smoking ban," said Hall County Keno Administrator Stacey Ruzicka.

Wagering in May was more than a half million dollars at $551,000. But in June, the receipts dropped to just $375,000.

"The smoking ban didn't make it better, but it was already on the decline," Brent Lindner, owner of the Bonzai Beach Club, said of keno wagering.

Bonzai operates as one of six satellite keno sites in Hall County. He believes economic challenges are likely more to blame for the drop in wagering.

"There's fuel and food prices," Lindner said. "Your expendable income for gambling has been depleted to keep food on the table and gas in the car."

Still, the sharp decline was not what county officials expected.

"It was a surprise to me," Ruzicka said.

She and Todd Otto, the general manager of Fonner Keno, recently discussed the decline and both concluded the smoking ban was having an impact.

Ruzicka said she and Otto had both expected an initial decline in receipts once the June 1 citywide smoking ban took effect, but neither thought the drop would be as large as it is.

"The concern is they may be driving somewhere else to play keno, but I don't think that will be long term with gas prices the way they are," Ruzicka said.

Grand Island's ban prohibits smoking in any public place, including work places. It's modeled after a similar ban in Lincoln, after which bar and restaurant owners reported initial declines in sales.

But those initial drops weren't long lasting in Lincoln.

Officials hope the same is true in Grand Island.

Ruzicka said in the case of keno, wagering always fluctuates, but not like the 32 percent drop recorded from May to June this year.

Last year, May wagering totaled $517,000 and wagering in June 2007 was at $481,000. That was a 7 percent decline.

Wagering this year was actually on the uptick before the smoking ban went into effect. Gross receipts were up 6 percent for the year from $6 million in 2006-07 (July 1 to June 30)  to $6.4 million in 2007-08.

The 2006-07 wagering netted $317,500 of keno proceeds each for Hall County and the city of Grand Island. The wagering year just ended grossed $6.4 million, but netted $298,000 each for the city and the county.

"The net went down because there was a big payout," Ruzicka said.

That big payout was a progressive prize winner in November 2007. The prize was $276,000.

State law requires that keno proceeds be used for "community betterment."

Hall County has used that supporting the Heartland Events Center and programs such as Senior Citizens Industries. The city of Grand Island places the money in its general fund for overall property tax relief.

The keno proceeds are collected one year and budgeted and spent the next.

Hall County voters approved of a countywide keno game in May 1992 with 52 percent of the vote.

The game began in the summer of 1993, with Fonner Keno named the county's keno operator. That contract was renewed in January for another five years.

Fonner Keno runs its main game at Fonner Park. It operates daily from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.

There are six satellite keno locations. They are the Ole Cow Palace, the Chicken Coop, Bonzai Beach Club, Bosselman's Travel Center, Balz Sports Bar and the Platt-Duetsche.

"We're hoping this won't be long term," Ruzicka said of the decline.