Gambling big business in Montana

Gambling is big business in Montana, and if you doubt it, consider this:

Sales at Montana casinos in 2001 broke the $1 billion mark;

Employment at gambling businesses is more than twice that of general merchandise stores and food stores combined.

By the Associated Press Missoulian

"Any attempt to restrict the gambling industry would negatively impact a sizable portion of Montana’s economy," concludes a study of video gambling by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana.

"It’s good, hard data," said Paul Polzin, director of the research bureau and one of three researchers who worked on the study.

Polzin said it is the only study of its kind focusing on the state’s video gaming industry.

There are about 1,700 casinos in Montana.

Among other things, the study found on average casinos get about 27 percent of their revenues from gambling, with 19 percent each from food and alcohol sales.

The casino industry grew by about 1.1 percent annually in inflation-adjusted terms between 1997 and 2001, the study found.

In 1997, all sales at casinos totaled $923 million. In 2001, sales were $1.039 billion.