Branstad’s open to smoke-free casino, but casino lobby has more clout

When I asked Gov. Terry Branstad for his opinion on a possible legislative effort to put a smoke-free casino in Cedar Rapids, I expected the brush off.

I figured the governor would say he has faith in the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to make casino licensing decisions. I doubted that he'd have much enthusiasm for legislative meddling in that process.

But the governor actually lit up at the prospect of creating a casino where no one would be allowed to light up.

'I'm very open to looking at that,” Branstad told The Gazette's editorial board. 'First of all, I'm a militant non-smoker. I'm married to a militant non-smoker. And I'm intrigued by the idea of having a smoke-free casino.”

It's true, Branstad loathes tobacco. Maybe not as much as public employee unions or the state of Illinois, but still, he's been kicking butts for years.

It's also true he's coasting toward re-election by double digits, if recent polls are accurate. So he'll likely still be governor when Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett brings his casino proposal to the Legislature next year.

'I'll give you a little history,” Branstad said. 'Way back when I was practicing law in Lake Mills, and was lieutenant governor, my wife called me one day and says ‘I'm throwing out all the ashtrays in our house.' Neither one of us smoked. But my mother did. (My wife) said ‘And we're not going to permit smoking in our house any more. You're going to back me up on this.' Well, I did. And my mother didn't talk to us for months.

'And when I got to be governor the first thing we did is we eliminated smoking at Terrace Hill and the Capitol. And then I found out kids are coming over from East High School and buying cigarettes in the basement of the Capitol. So I banned the sale of cigarettes in the Capitol and state offices. So I have a long history,” he said.

That's good news for Corbett, who just won't quit on the city's dashed dreams of a downtown gambling joint, with hundreds of slot machines, glittering chandeliers and a steakhouse. He plans to push for legislation at the Statehouse that would make Cedar Rapids the site of Iowa's first smoke-free casino, along with changes in the way gambling revenues are shared with non-casino counties and other reform measures.

Under current law, casinos are exempt from Iowa's ban on smoking in public places. That's why, despite the best efforts of fans and filters, Iowa casinos smell like stale ashtrays. Gambling interests contend that banishing smokers would slice their revenues by 25 to 30 percent, and potentially threaten the viability of some operations. Lawmakers have listened, and the casino's smoky loophole remains firmly intact.

Corbett and others contend that if that's so, then there's really no reason to fear that a smoke-free casino in Cedar Rapids would cannibalize business from existing operations. If the industry's right about the value of smoking, Cedar Crossing would operate at a competitive disadvantage. Concern about revenue cannibalization from casinos in Riverside, Waterloo and beyond was the main reason the Racing and Gaming Commission rejected Cedar Rapids license application back in April.

It's all very intriguing, as the governor says. Trouble is, Iowa's casino cartel will see a smoke-free casino as a threat to not only its precious revenues but also to its smoking loophole. The cartel isn't going to let that happen. And even a very open, intrigued governor likely is no match for the casino lobby.

'I do know that the gaming industry is very strong. And they have a tremendous amount of clout in the Legislature,” Branstad said. 'I tried to get them back to paying the same taxes they paid when I was governor before. And, you know, they beat me really bad on that issue.”

In 2011, fresh from his re-election win, Branstad proposed raising the casino tax rate to 36 percent, raising $190 million annually. He wanted to use the bucks to cut Iowa's top corporate income tax rate in half, from 12 percent to 6 percent. A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll showed that 56 percent of Iowans favored the idea.

But at the Capitol, his proposal was a lead balloon filled with bricks. Casino interests said raising the tax could force as many as four casinos to go out of business. Lawmakers listened, and scrapped the governor's idea.

So the tax increase is out. But he hasn't given up on clearing the air.

'I'm realistic about the clout that they have,” Branstad said. 'But I don't think it's fair that the people who work in that industry are subject to the second hand smoke.”

He's right, of course. But I still think Corbett's chance of convincing lawmakers we need a smoke-free casino is Virginia slim. I'm betting Iowa's casinos will snuff it out long before Branstad gets a whiff of it.

l Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@thegazette.com