Vol. 24, Number 9 A Tash Communications Publication August 2019

Endorsed by the

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

P A I DPermit No. 93Livingston, MT

Change service requested: P.O. Box 4307, Butte, MT 59702

paul@tashcommunications.com 406-494-0100

Montana firmsseek chanceto bid contract

By Paul Tash, Montana Tavern TimesLike a turtle finally poking its head above water

after a long swim underwater and against the current,Montana’s gaming industry may have reached a pointwhere it can breathe – at least a little.

Video gaming machine (VGM) revenues inMontana totaled about $63 million in Fiscal Year2019, up more than 5 percent over last year andwithin a whisker of the record high of $63.4million recorded in FY08, according to prelim-inary figures recently released by the state’sGambling Control Division.

After the record year in 2008, revenues beganto plummet, falling by more than 20 percent from2008 to 2011, when an economic recession, asmoking ban and other factors hammered theindustry. Revenues fell to $49.4 million in 2011

Sports-betting RFP wanted

By Jorie TashMontana Tavern TimesSeveral industry representa-

tives questioned the Lottery’s planto allow Intralot to manage sportsbetting in the state without callingfor bid proposals from other inter-ested companies during a MontanaLottery Commission meeting July11.

Intralot is a Greece-based com-pany that specializes in managinglottery services for a variety ofgovernment entities, including sev-eral U.S. states. Montana Lotteryis currently contracted with Intralotto manage its lottery operation, butindustry reps said that contractdoes not include the managementof sports-betting, which the

MTA awardMTA awardnominations nominations

–– Page 7Page 7

VGM revenues near ‘08 high markPlan now to attendMTA convention

MONTANA LOTTERY Commission ChairmanWilbur Rehmann, center in blue shirt, makes apoint about sports betting last month during the

Commission’s meeing in Helena. On his right isLottery Director Angela Wong and to his left isCommissioner Leo Prigge.

Paul Tash photo

Montana Legislature passed thisyear. Lottery’s contract withIntralot was last renewed in 2015.

Ronda Wiggers, the lobbyistfor the Montana Coin-MachineOperators Association (MCMOA),told the Commission, “it is our

understanding that the Lotterybelieves sports betting was includ-ed in the 2015 contract withIntralot.”

“MCMOA does not agree withthat decision and respectfullyrequests that the Commission go

through the RFP (request-for-pro-posal) process to determine whichprovider will best serve Montana,”Wiggers said. “MCMOA has mem-bers that are interested in biddingfor the Lottery contract, and these

See LOTTERY Page 8

See REVENUES Page 6See SIDNEY Page 7

Montana Tavern TimesPreparations for the 2019 Montana Tavern

Association (MTA) Convention are well underway,including a revamped schedule and many optionsfor transportation to Sidney for the Sep. 9-11event.

Registration is open now, and convention-goers are urged to register early to help the MTAbetter plan the event. To register, go towww.MTtaverns.org or call the MTA at 406 442-5040. Registration at the door can't be guaranteed.

The convention’s agenda is chock-full of busi-ness and entertainment opportunities, saidMargaret Herriges, executive director of the MTA.

“We have fun local options for you to explore,

Montana Tavern Times – 2 August 2019

Montana Tavern Times – 3August 2019

Montana Tavern TimesSix more alcoholic beverage

licenses are currently available forbid on the Montana Department ofRevenue’s website through mid-night Sept. 5.

Bids must be submitted elec-tronically using the electronic form(Retail Alcoholic BeverageCompetitive Bid Form) found athttps://app.mt.gov/myrevenue/.Bidders must complete and submitthe electronic bid form, pay a $100processing fee plus servicecharges, and attach an irrevocableletter of credit from a financialinstitution for at least the bidamount. (See accompanying table.)

An all-beverage license(floater) allows the successful bid-der to enter into a buy/sell agree-ment with an existing licensee for

More liquor licenses up for auction

an all-beverage license in a quotaarea that is over the quota limit.Once approved by the department,the successful bidder may transferthat license to a new quota area.

For more information on thecompetitive bidding process, to see

maps of the quota areas, or to signup for electronic notifications forfuture competitive bidding oppor-tunities, visit DOR’s website atmtrevenue.gov and click on theAlcohol & Tobacco tab on the topmenu. Then, click on the Alcoholic

Beverage Licenses tab, and finallyon the bidding-process tab (topmiddle).

The bidding for the six licensesopened July 31. For more ques-tions, call the DOR at (406) 444-6900.

GERALD W. STEINBRENNER

MILODRAGOVICH, DALE, STEINBRENNER P.C.Attorneys

GERALD W. STEINBRENNER(406) 728-1455Fax (406) 549-7077E-Mail: fishlaw@bigskylawyers.com www.bigskylawyers.com

P.O. Box 4947620 High Park Way

Missoula MT 59806-4947

Liquor License Transfers, Gaming Applications,Real Estate, Business Sales, and Estate Planning

August 2019Montana Tavern Times – 4

Opinion/EditorialTavernTimes

Write usThe Montana Tavern Times welcomes letters to the editor. Lettersmust include the writer’s name and address. The word limit is 300.Mail to Montana Tavern Times, P.O. Box 4307, Butte MT 59702, oremail us at paul@tashcommunications.com. The Times reserves theright not to print letters it finds objectionable.

.05 BAC doesn’t fix fatality problemBy Richard Berman, Washington TimesEarlier this year, a drunk driver traveling

the wrong direction on the freeway collidedhead-on with the Abbas family's SUV. Dr.Rima Abbas, her husband and their threechildren tragically did not survive the colli-sion, nor did Joey Lee Bailey, the driver ofthe wrong-way vehicle. The incident spurredlegislators in the Abbas' homestate of Michigan to introducelegislation lowering the legalblood alcohol content (BAC) limitfor driving from 0.08 to 0.05.

The problem is, Bailey – likethe vast majority of drunk driversinvolved in a fatal crash - had aBAC that far exceeded the current 0.08 law.Toxicology reports put his BAC at 0.306, ornearly four times the legal limit. Evidenceindicates that he had consumed at least 18servings of alcohol prior to getting behindthe wheel that night. It's not uncommonbehavior among abusive drinkers. Morethan 90 percent of alcohol-involved trafficfatalities contain someone with a BACabove 0.10. In California, another recent .05bill was triggered by a fatal crash involvinga driver at 0.12 BAC. In fact, the latest fed-eral data puts the average BAC of a drunkdriver involved in a fatal crash even higher,at 0.18.

When it comes to drunk driving, one'sblood alcohol content is an objective meas-ure that indicates their level of impairment.

Above 0.30 BAC, the aforementionedwrong-way driver likely lapsed into uncon-sciousness and experienced near total lossof motor control.

Yet according to numerous investiga-tions into the effects of impairment, a BACof 0.05 does not meaningfully hinder one'sability to drive. Studies show that a 0.05

BAC is far less impairing than talking on ahands-free cellphone - an activity that'sdeemed legal. A 120-lb. woman can reach0.05 with little more than a single drink.Nonetheless, the 0.05 BAC policy hasgained traction as a tough-on-drunk-drivingmeasure ever since Utah became the firststate in the nation to pass it into law.

Since drivers at 0.05 BAC aren't mean-ingfully impaired, the crux of these lowerlegal limit laws relies on the contested exis-tence of their deterrent effect. Supporters ofthe law often cite a 2017 meta-analysisfrom James Fell, a researcher who hasdevoted his career to incrementally loweringthe bar for what it means to be "drunk." Felland his colleague claim that a national .05law would save 1,790 lives each year by

convincing would-be drunk drivers not to getbehind the wheel.

But do we really think that having a .05law on the books would have convincedBailey to stop drinking after his second orthird drink if he chose to drive after 18? Justas we don't reduce the speed limit to makesensible drivers out of drag racers, loweringthe BAC limit for driving would not make adifference to those already breaking 0.08BAC laws.

The data supporting 0.05 as a deter-rence measure are precarious at best. Ofthe 37 studies Fell used to inform his "1,790lives saved" claim, not a single one used acontrol group (the gold standard of scientificresearch) while evaluating drunk drivingfatality trends before and after 0.05 lawswent into effect. Some studies didn't evenlook at 0.05 laws at all, but rather evaluatedthe effect of reducing legal driving limitsfrom 0.10 to the current 0.08 BAC standard.Others evaluated only drivers under age 21,who are already subject to zero-tolerancelaws in the United States.

Where Fell could find evidence that 0.05laws reduced fatalities abroad, it wasbecause the law was adopted alongside arandom roadside breath test mandate.Since drivers at 0.05 BAC aren't noticeablydistinguishable from other drivers on theroad, the only hope of enforcing the lowerlegal limit requires the threat of anunprompted police stop.

Paul Tash, Editor/Publisher • paul@tashcommunications.comOffice phone: 406-494-0100 • Cell: 406-491-0100

Paul Vang, Contributing Writer • pfvang@bresnan.netPhone 406-494-5736

Ad Production • production@tashcommunications.com

Postmaster: Please send address change requests to P.O. Box 4307, Butte, MT 59702All rights reserved by publisher

This publication has been endorsed by the Montana Tavern Association

Reprints of articles and back issues are available at a cost of $10.If you wish to begin receiving the Montana Tavern Times,

send your name, mailing address, telephone number and $35 for a year’s subscriptionto Montana Tavern Times, P.O. Box 4307, Butte, MT 59702.

Tavern Times Business and News Office:P.O. Box 4307, Butte, MT 59702

• TEL: 406-494-0100 • E-MAIL: paul@tashcommunications.com

A Tash Communications Publication — UPCOMING EVENTS — Sept. 9-11 MTA Convention and Trade Show, Sidney Sept. 20 Gaming Advisory Council, GCD office, Helena Sept. 23 Silver Bow TA charity dinner, Star Lanes, Butte

— STANDING DATES — 2nd Tues. of month Carbon/Stillwater TA 328-4807

1st & 3rd Wed. month Cascade Co. TA 453-9567 2nd Mon. of month Central Montana TA 366-9633 Quarterly (call) Flathead Co. TA 270-8069 1st Thurs. of month Hi-Line TA 265-9551 2nd Wed. of month North Lake Co. TA 844-3372 2nd Wed. of month Lincoln Co. TA 293-4493 2nd Tues. of month Miles City TA 234-3164 1st Tues. of quarter Missoula Co. TA 728-0030 3rd Thurs. of month Park County TA 222-0665 Last Tues. of month Ravalli Co. TA 821-1853 2nd Thurs of month Richland Co. TA 433-4354 2nd Thur. of month Sheridan-Richland-Daniels 474-2358 2nd Tues. of month Silver Bow TA 494-6062 Last Wed. of month Southwest Montana TA 835-2150 1st Mon. of month Toole Co. TA 434-2442 2nd Tues. of month Tri-County LBA 475-3125 1st Thurs. of month Yellowstone TA 855-0778

Tavern Timetable

Montana Tavern Times – 5August 2019

Opinion/EditorialTavernTimes

By Joel SilvermanSilverman Law Office

Why is it we can scream from the top ofour lungs when everything is going great?However, we don’t share things when lifegives us lemons. Social media is filled withpeople on great vacations and life’s manyblessings, but it never contains life’s difficul-ties. What is the standard response whensomeone asks you how business isgoing? Is there a reason that weare afraid to say that businesshas been terrible?

This all comes down to onecommon theme: EGO.

Don’t get me wrong, I protectmy ego like a wild dog, but Ihave been learning when to letgo and not be so protective.However, I am far from perfectand still have a lot of work to dobefore I am a master at playingoff of my ego.

I was recently working with aclient when they asked me forhelp with a sales problem. Theclient felt that they had a greatproduct, but they couldn’t get people to buytheir product. We began the deep dive withmy simple questions: “What have youtried?” The client quickly responded with“Everything!” Is that an ego-protectingresponse or a response that is really look-ing for a solution?

I took a deep breath, and a very long

pause, so that my client could think abouttheir answer. He then said “What?!”, as if hewas being attacked by my silence. I simplystated that I didn’t say anything to him andthat if the silence was hurting him, then hewas free to continue explaining his position.He paused and then apologized. He admit-ted that he was frustrated with the processof getting his product out to the market

place and that he had

a lot riding on this project. This made him alittle sore on the edges and a bit sensitive attimes. I asked him if he was ready to do anopen and honest dive into why his market-ing had failed. He calmly said “yes,” whichwas when I knew he was truly ready totackle the problem head-on.

If your response is protective, then your

ego is getting in the way and you reallyshould take a pause. People want to help,but they can’t help if you aren’t open andhonest about your business. The fact is thatwe are all struggling at one point or another,but often times it is our ego that prevents usfrom being open and honest, which is a bar-rier to receiving help from others.

Heck, one of my businesses just wentthrough the worst four-month stretch of its

history. We simply had to get towork as a team, figure out theproblem(s) and make the neces-sary corrections to get the busi-ness back on the right track. Ifwe hadn’t put our egos to theside, then we wouldn’t havebeen able to work as a team toget the ship moving in the rightdirection.

Want to learn from otherrestaurateurs and bar owners?Watch the interviews of manysuccessful business people atthe Montana Business Vlog onYouTube. If you have any topicsor questions to be covered in

future articles, or if you would like to receiveour monthly newsletter, then please emailme at joel@mttaxlaw.com.

Joel Silverman is founder ofSilverman Law Office with offices inHelena and Bozeman. He can be reachedat (406) 204-5813.

Be wary of ego holding back honesty

People want tohelp, but they

can’t help if youaren’t open andhonest about yourbusiness.

Joel Silverman

August 2019Montana Tavern Times – 6

Revenuesfrom Page 1

before slowly rebounding in fitsand starts to reach nearly the samelevel this year as in 2008.

Industry reps point out thatalthough gaming revenues haveclimbed back close to where theywere over a decade ago, that climbjust means revenues now equate tozero growth in that time. The pre-cipitous 2008-2011 decline andsubsequent slow recovery has beencompounded as expenses havecontinued to rise, leaving theindustry dealing with today'sexpenses and revenues at 2008 lev-els.

Still, industry reps are happywith the growth in FY19, whichended June 30.

“VGM tax revenues for FiscalYear 2019 of $63 million is a posi-tive for the industry,” said NeilPeterson, executive director of thestate’s Gaming IndustryAssociation. “While current rev-enues are close to the high markset in Fiscal Year 2008, the indus-try’s bottom line isn’t. That beingsaid, we are hopeful that slow andsteady growth will continue forfuture years.”

Fourth-quarter numbersRevenues in the fourth quarter

of FY19 totaled an estimated $16.1million, or nearly 4 percent morethan fourth quarter FY18, whichreached about $15.5 million. Thefourth-quarter total also represent-ed the fifth consecutive quarter ofgrowth.

The gains were widespread –six of the seven largest countiesshowed growth in the fourth quar-ter this year over last. Gallatin andSilver Bow counties enjoyed thelargest increase of 7.9 percent,with Silver Bow growing to$961,000 from $890,000, andGallatin growing to $1,072,000from $994,000. Yellowstone alsoenjoyed a strong fourth quarter,posting a 6.2 percent gain to$3,299,000 from $3,106,000.

Fourth-quarter results forthe other largest counties are:

• Cascade, up 3 percent to$1,684,000 from $1,635,000;

• Lewis and Clark, up 2.8percent to $1,209,000 from$1,176,000;

• Flathead, up 4.4 percentto $1,479,000 from$1,418,000;

• And Missoula, down .3.2percent to $1,522,000 from$1,573,000;

Fourth-quarter results forthe next largest countiesinclude:

• Hill (county seat – Havre), up5.6 percent to $261,000 from

$247,000;• Lincoln (county seat –

Libby), down 2.7 percent to$285,000 from $293,000;

• Park (county seat –Livingston), down 3 percent to$258,000 from $266,000;

• Ravalli County (county seat –

Hamilton) up 5.8 percent to$409,000 from $386,000;

• Richland (county seat –Sidney) down 6.6 percent to$328,000 from $351,000;

• Roosevelt (county seat– Wolf Point) up 7.7 percentto $299,000 from $277,000.

Overall, the state report-ed 35 of the state’s 56 coun-ties enjoyed revenue increas-es and 16 experienceddecreases. The GCD didn’trelease VGM data for theremaining five counties,which had one or no gaming

operator. See the accompanyingtables for gaming revenue specificson other counties and cities.

Montana Tavern Times – 7August 2019

Sidneyfrom Page 1

The Montana TavernAssociation is calling for nomina-tions for its two major awards, theDurkee Award and the Worker ofthe Year Award.

The Durkee Award, created in1997, is the MTA’s most presti-gious honor. It is to be presented“to one person, either posthumous-ly or to a living soul, in recogni-tion of their outstanding service,unselfish contributions of time andeffort and dedication to the better-ment of the Montana TavernAssociation, its members andgoals.”

The award is in honor ofMTA’s late executive director,Marie Durkee, and her husbandBob, who advocated for associa-tion members as the MTA lobbyist.

To nominate a person for theaward, submit a written nomina-tion, outlining how your nomineefits the criteria of the award.

Nominations can be for one personor a couple working together toachieve these goals. Nominationscan come from MTA members,employees, or community mem-bers

The MTA NominatingCommittee will review the submis-sions and choose the winner.

The Worker of the Year Awardis sponsored by the MontanaTavern Times to recognize theemployees who work so hard tomake the hospitality industrygreat. Nominations consist of ashort essay of no more than 250words outlining why the nomineeis an exemplary example of a ded-icated and valuable worker, howmany years of service have beenrendered, what are the employee'soutside interests and who are his orher family members. Examples ofachievement, or courage and perse-verance in the face of adversity,should be included.

The award, created in 2006, is

MTA seeking nominations for awards

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officially known as the GaryLangley Memorial Worker of theYear award. Langley was a popularlong-time editor of the monthlytrade publication. The winner, whowill be selected by the MTANominations Committee, willreceive a specially created plaque,adorned with a bartender's jiggerand stir spoon, along with a $100bill.

Nominations for both awardsare due Aug. 9, and nominationforms are available on the MTAwebsite, www.mttaverns.org.Winners will be revealed at AwardsBanquet at the 64th Convention inSidney Tuesday evening, Sept. 10,and will be featured in the post-convention edition of the TavernTimes.

and a great pub crawl planned,”Herriges said. “You don’t want tomiss the amazing speakers we’vefound to discuss the issues that arecritical to your business.”

The schedule this year has beenaltered to accommodate the driveto Sidney, she said.

The Durkee Memorial GolfTournament and the FramptonMemorial Poker Tournament areMonday, Sept. 9. As always, thetrade show will be a highlight ofthe convention and will take placein the city’s Event Center, Tuesday,Sept. 10. The popular awards ban-quet is Tuesday, Sep. 10, at theSidney Elks Club, when the MTAWorker of the Year and prestigiousDurkee award winners will beannounced. Nominations are stillopen for each award (see story onPage 7).

Seminars are planned forTuesday morning, while candidate

forums, the General Session, andbusiness meeting are planned forWednesday.

Attendees have many optionsfor lodgings in Sidney, since nomain hotel is hosting the event thisyear. Hotel information, fromavailability to price comparisons,is available on www.mttaverns.orgunder the “Resources” tab.

More information can also befound in the brochure available onwww.mttaverns.org.

Tickets for plane trips betweenBillings and Sidney on Cape Airare available, and roundtrip faresrun from $29 to $79. An eastboundtrain will reach Williston, ND, at 6p.m. MST, (7 p.m. central time) onSunday. The MTA will providetransportation from the train sta-tion to the convention and back onThursday morning if 10 or morepeople are arriving by train, sothose planning on taking the trainshould let the MTA know as soonas possible. Transportation fromthe airport to the convention canalso be arranged.

Full convention registration is

$175 for MTA members and $210for nonmembers. Golf and pokertournament participation are $100each for all participants, and tick-ets to attend just the Tuesday tradeshow are $100 for members and$125 for nonmembers.

“We’re looking forward to shar-ing three fun-filled, informative dayswith you,” Herriges said.

Don’t miss next month’s issue ofthe Montana Tavern Times for evenmore information on the MTA con-vention.

August 2019Montana Tavern Times – 8

Lotteryfrom Page 1

companies have more experiencein the United States sports-bettingmarket than Intralot does, and wefeel that in order to obtain the bestprovider for Montana, the Lotteryneeds to go through the full (bid)process.”

Neil Peterson, executive direc-tor of the Gambling IndustryAssociation, also urged theCommission to open the contractup to bids from other companies.

“I’m hearing rumblings fromwithin the industry that should theCommission go ahead and do a no-bid contract, that you could havesome litigation over that,” he said.

He cited the problemsWashington, D.C., has had gettingits sports-betting program off theground due to similar issues withvendor contracts.

“I understand the need forspeed,” said Peterson, “but I thinkwe should slow it down.”

The Commission did not act orcomment on the appeals for anRFP to run sports-betting for theMontana Lottery.

The Montana Legislaturepassed two sports-betting bills lastsession: House Bill 725, whichallowed the Montana Lottery to

operate sports betting, and SenateBill 330, which would haveallowed private Montana compa-nies to operate sports betting.

However, Gov.Steve Bullockvetoed SB330,and though simi-lar legislationcould be intro-duced in 2021,several Montanacompanies andtheir experiencedsports-book part-ners seek anopportunity torun the Lottery’ssports-bettingoperations.

Wiggers saidgiving thesports-bettingcontract toIntralot runs con-trary to a reasonGov. Bullockstated for veto-ing SB330:

“I find itironic that in hisveto message,(Bullock)expressed con-cerns that theprivate marketwould allow

international firms to partici-pate, but now the Lotteryappears to be planning to handthe contract to Greek-based

Intralot,” Wiggers told the panel.Though the Commission did

not discuss the RFP idea,Chairman Wilbur Rehmann didstate a need for caution, saying thatthe Lottery should get input fromMontana High School Associationand representatives of universitysports programs to ensure athletesare protected from some of thepotential pitfalls of legal sports-betting, such as “the lure of cash”to be gained from illegal activitieslike point shaving.

Lottery Director Angela Wongsaid, “it’s important to the Lotteryto do it right, too; we want to seethis successful as well.”

“If we need more time, that’sokay,” she said.

Finally, Montana Council onProblem Gaming (MCPG) directorBrad Longcake implored theCommission to “elevate the impor-tance” of MCPG’s work in itsbudget and find ways to increaseawareness of the program’s needsand services. On sports betting,Longcake said that “new opportu-nities present new challenges,” andthat he believes the MCPG willneed increased industry support asthe new form of betting becomesavailable in Montana.

“We need support to makeeverything work,” he told theCommission.

GAMING INDUSTRY Association ExecutiveDirector Neil Peterson urges the LotteryCommission during its meeting July 11 torequest proposals to run sports betting.

Paul Tash photo

Montana Tavern Times – 9August 2019

August 2019Montana Tavern Times – 10

Montana Tavern TimesThe celebrity-studded

Yellowstone Club in GallatinCounty has requested a hearingwith the Montana Department ofRevenue (DOR) regarding morethan 800 units of liquor, wine andbeer found at the Club’sYellowstone Jetcenter facility atthe Bozeman airport June 25, just

Yellowstone Club seeks DOR hearingafter Club officials agreed to pay$370,000 to the DOR to retaintheir four licenses and receive onemore after violating liquor lawsearlier this year.

Following a DOR inspection ofa new location at the club to deter-mine whether it qualified for afifth on-site license back inJanuary, a whistleblower left a tip

with the DORthat the new site,The Boot Roomand Buffalo Barand Grill, hadbeen sellingalcohol prior toqualifying andreceiving alicense and hidthe liquor in atruck during theinspection. Theinformant alsosaid that thefour licensedlocations – TheRainbow Lodge Lounge, H&KSpirits, Base Lodge andTimberline Lounge – had beenreceiving and storing alcoholicbeverages off-site, an action that isalso against DOR rules, as allalcohol sold in a licensed locationmust be stored on-site.

After the tip, an inspectorreturned to the Club unannouncedand confirmed the allegationswhen they witnessed The BootRoom and Buffalo Bar and Grill’sfully stocked bar and customers

being served, and later found theoff-site warehouse where the Clubhad been illegally storing alcoholicbeverages.

Licensees admitted to thecharges and agreed to pay theaforementioned settlement of$370,000 in late June, not includ-ing the cost of buying the seizedliquor back from the state. Theyalso agreed to cease alcohol salesfor seven to 20 days, although howlong the cessation will last andwhen it will take place has yet tobe decided by the state. The publicwill receive a notice two daysbefore the cessation begins. Thelicensed locations also agreed toremove the offending owner/man-ager and replace him with newmanagers, one for each location,all of whom must be reported tothe DOR within 30 days of hire.

However, soon after the settle-ment was agreed upon and the finepaid, investigators found andseized over 800 bottles and cans ofalcoholic beverages at theYellowstone Jetcenter, a terminalthat serves Club members whoarrive in private planes.

DOR representative SanjayTalwani told the public that thestate believes the alcohol belongsto a company owned by two Clubexecutives, according to a reportby NBC Montana.

Yellowstone Club says its theworld’s only private ski and golfcommunity. The club includes2,700 acres of ski trails and an 18-hole Tom Weiskopf-designedmountain golf course.

To be a member of theYellowstone Club, one must firstown property, the cheapest optionbeing condominiums, which startat $3.5 million for just under 900square feet. Then, members mustpay an initiation fee starting at$400,000, returnable upon exitingmembership, and a yearly fee of atleast $40,000.

Celebrity members of the Clubinclude Eric Schmidt, former CEOof Google; Justin Timberlake andJessica Biel; and Bill and MelindaGates.

Montana Tavern Times – 11August 2019

August 2019Montana Tavern Times – 12

AB InBev cancels huge Asia-Pacific IPOLiquor Biz

By Paul F. VangAnheuser-Busch InBev domi-

nated a lot of the industry newswith the company’s plan to hold aninitial public offering (IPO) of theAsia-Pacific branch of the brewinggiant’s business.

Early in July, Reuters reportedthat AB InBev was seeking to raise$9.8 billion and that the IPO wouldbe the world’s biggest IPO thisyear.

Two weeks later, the financialworld was shaken by the news thatAB InBev was cancelling the IPO.As reported by cnbc.com, ABInBev said the decision was due to“several factors, including the pre-vailing market conditions.”

In a Bloomberg analysis,observers suggested that ABInBev’s valuation of the IPO wasmore than investors were willing topay. As they summed it up, “to getbig deals done you have to enticeenough buyers. And investors haveone advantage: their need to buy isless than AB InBev’s necessity tosell.”

In the wake of the IPO deci-sion, Bloomberg later reported thatthe action left the company “in abind.” As they see it, the companyneeds to find a new way to reduceits $100 billion-plus debt to keepits shareholders satisfied, whilereinvigorating a business that has“lost its fizz.” Several options areavailable, including cutting costs, astrategy that has been AB InBev’sforte as the company kept acquir-ing new companies. Now, theremight not be many things to cut,and if they cut things such as mar-keting to cut debt, investors mightshy away even more.

Other options might includeselling off some assets and againcutting dividends to investors. Therisky thing about that was that lastyear’s decision to cut dividendscaused an 11 percent loss in share

price.Financial Times suggested that

AB InBev might take another try atthe IPO, “But investors shouldleave off the beer goggles whenlooking at the brewer’s prospects.”

The latest development is thatAB InBev made a deal to sell itsAustralian operations, Carlton &United Breweries, brewers ofFoster’s and Victorian Bitter, toAsahi Group Holdings Ltd for anestimated price of $11.3 billion.According to Bloomberg, ABInBev would use sale proceeds tocut company debt. The news of thesale renewed speculation that thesale of the Australian assets wouldmake an Asian-Pacific IPO moreattractive to investors.

Interestingly, shares of AsahiGroup Holdings fell on the news ofthe acquisition. The speculationfrom Bloomberg, is that Asahi paidtop price for gaining a larger shareof the beer business for a regionthat is showing slow growth.

Jim Beam fireA massive fire destroyed a Jim

Beam warehouse in Kentucky,with losses estimated at $50 mil-lion, as some 45,000 bourbon bar-rels went up in flames, accordingto a report at www.courier-jour-nal.com, of Louisville, KY.

In addition to the losses ofbourbon, the fire created environ-mental problems as a plume of

ethanol entered the Kentucky River,a tributary of the Ohio River.

In an effort to reduce environ-mental damage, officials decidedthe best bet was to let the alcoholburn off to reduce alcohol runoff.

Nevertheless, Kentucky’sDepartment of Fish and WildlifeResources was tallying up largenumbers of dead fish and warningpeople that people using theKentucky River in the area of thealcohol plume “will see dead fishand may smell them.”

Residency law dumpedOn the legal front, the U.S.

Supreme Court struck down aTennessee law that makes it hardfor outsiders to break into thestate’s liquor sales market.

The Court ruled in a 7-2majority opinion that a staterequirement that someone mustlive in Tennessee for two years tobecome eligible for a license tosell liquor violates theConstitution. Tennessee also had a10-year residency requirement forrenewal of a liquor license. Bothof those requirements were struckdown by lower courts. Tennessee’swine and spirits retailers associa-tion did not try to defend thelonger requirement.

Judge Samuel Alito wrote inthe opinion that states have con-siderable power to regulate thesale of alcohol, but they can’t dis-criminate against out-of-stateinterests.

John Bodnovich, executivedirector of American BeverageLicensees (ABL), issued a state-ment expressing disappointment inthe decision, suggesting that theCourt’s decision “creates uncer-tainty for beverage licensees whohave long participated in the stateregulatory systems that makemake up America’s alcohol mar-ketplace.”

On the other hand, theNational Beer WholesalersAssociation President Craig Purseraccepted the ruling from the stand-point that the two-year residencyrequirement did not support thepublic interest. He also pointed outthat the ruling left the three-tiersystem in place as the frameworkfor state regulators and industry.

Beer Business Daily predictsthat the court decision will likelylead to additional litigation aslower courts will have to deter-mine whether state residency lawsin other states have sufficient dif-ferences from Tennessee’s law.

AB buys wine brandAB InBev expanded non-beer

offerings, through its innovatonand growth unit, ZX Ventures,acquiring Swish Beverages. ZXinitially invested in Swish in 2016,and the latest deal means that ABInBev took over total ownership ofSwish.

Swish produces Babe wines, aline of canned wines, a productco-founded, according to a FoxBusiness report, by “Instagraminfluencer, Josh “the Fat Jewish”Ostrovsky.”

The report said the cannedwine appeals to millennials.

For the record, I have no ideawhat an Instagram influencer is ordoes, and ‘the Fat Jewish’ is notmy description of Ostrovsky orany other person, for that matter.

Beer company rankingsThere may not be any surprises

in this, but www.industryleaders-magazine.com came out with aranking of the world’s largest beercompanies. The report notes thatthe beer market is greatly influ-enced by the increasing number ofsmall craft breweries, amountingto 13.2 percent of U.S. beer sales.

Still, the beer business is dom-inated by five industry leaders,ranked as following:

1. Anheuser-Busch InBev 2. Heineken3. China Resources Snow

Breweries.4. Carlsberg5. Molson Coors

Boy sells ‘ice cold beer’When hot weather comes

along, there’s a good chance youmight find kids opening up lemon-ade stands.

As reported by People maga-zine, an 11-year old boy inBrigham City, UT, stepped up theusual marketing by putting up asign at his stand announcing hewas serving “ice cold beer.”

The sign drew a lot of interestas well as booming sales, and, ofcourse, the attention of the law.

It was all a marketing ploy,police officers learned. Turns outthe kid was just selling root beer,and a close look at his sign wouldshow the word “root” was on thesign – really, really small.

The police reported their find-ings on the department’s Facebookpage, praising the young entrepre-neur’s marketing strategy. PoliceLt. Tony Ferderber told CNN ,“Once our officers got there, theyfound it quite ingenious.”

A customer said, “He’sadorable! It shocked me, too, and Ibought root beer from him. What asmart kid!”

Montana Tavern Times – 13August 2019

August 2019Montana Tavern Times – 14

On-premise beer and wine license –gaming available – for sale inWhitefish, Montana. Priced to sell at$125,000 or make an offer. The opera-tion’s location has been sold, we arenot interested in moving the license tonew location, and would like a sale tobe completed early in 2019. Call Jeffat 406-868-4284.

One of Montana’s highest-rated steak-house/restaurants with successful &profitable 8 yr. proven track record.Beer/wine license. Corvallis, MT.Call Matthew Locati 406-381-3909.Gallatin Real Estate

Location, Location, Location!Brewski’s Sports Bar & Casino inHamilton with a city all-beverageliquor & casino license included.Rare find! Call Matthew Locati 406-381-3909.

BUSINESSES FOR SALE BUSINESSES FOR SALEBUSINESSES FOR SALE

Just $4.50 per line

1-406-494-0100paul@tashcommunications.com

MTT • Buy • Sell • Trade

DAVE'S 2019 TIPSFOR SELLING YOUR BAR My advice is simple. You’veundoubtedly worked very hardin your bar/restaurant over theyears. Pick someone who worksat least as hard, and totallyunderstands the hospitality busi-ness! Contact me for a free con-sultation, and I’ll explain howI’ll market your property.

Club Bar, Ronan, Mt.PRICE CUT - now $349,000!

Knotty Pine, Dillon, Mt.$389,999!

Bozeman Real Estate GroupDave Everett Realtor®

406-600-0647Dave@BozemanRealEstate.group

PRICE REDUCED!All-beverage liquor license withgaming & catering available inGreat Falls. $225,000 OBO. Ownermotivated to sell. Call 907-252-6493 or email goode@alaska.net.

Long-established Billings bar andgrill with gaming. Beer and winelicense, real estate, furniture, fix-tures, and equipment, includingpoker, keno machines. $1,250,000.Some owner financing possible.- Bob Pulley & Chuck Platt, brokers406-670-7947

Cart Wheel Casino & Liquor Store – 1900 10th Ave S – Great FallsTurn-key casino & liquor store. High roadway traffic – approx. 40,000 vehicles per day. The growingUniversity of Providence is one block away. Room to expand with live poker & new Montana laws allowingsports betting & live dice games. Sale includes land, building, liquor license, FF&E. $1,375,000.

Dawn McKenney, Realtor ®Keller Williams Realty406-868-3209

K-Bar Grill and Steakhouse, 13 W Legion St., Whitehall

The only restaurant in town open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, 7 days a week! Private area for gaming machines and another private area for 2 pool tables. Turn-key business ready for a newowner. Walk right in and keep the business as is or add your ownmenu and bar ideas. $335,000

Blue Moon Saloon, Cameron, MT

The historic restaurant, bar, store,cabins and campground is beingoffered turn-key ready! Located in Cameron, MT, the Blue Moonis a place where locals gather,enjoying Friday night prime rib, Saturday night dances or just relax-ing as they share a brew. Six cabins (remodeled 2016), employeehousing, onsite laundromat and more. Close to Yellowstone!

PRICE REDUCED!State of Montana state agency liquorstore for sale in Red Lodge, MT. Owna turn-key business in a thriving resorttown – a gateway to YellowstoneNational Park and at the base of a skihill. Contact Joel Silverman 406-449-4829 or joel@mttaxlaw.com for moreinformation.

PRICE REDUCED!State of Montana state agency liquorstore for sale in Red Lodge, MT. Owna turn-key business in a thriving resorttown – a gateway to YellowstoneNational Park and at the base of a skihill. Contact Joel Silverman 406-449-4829 or joel@mttaxlaw.com for moreinformation.

Upper Level Street View Lower Level

Owl Lounge, LivingstonIconic Owl Lounge in Livingstonhas been completely renovatedand runs like a well oiledmachine! Great opportunity foranyone wanting their own busi-ness. Remodeled in 2013 withcontinual upgrades in the past 5years, including A/C units in2018. Back portion of lot can beused as a patio during summermonths with removable fencingprovided. Complete list ofupdates/improvements available.Includes building, business, cityall-beverage liquor license, FFE.$879,000. MLS#330473

Agent owned.Lisa Schwarz,

broker associate,406-224-7273

BUSINESSES FOR SALE

DOT MERRILL, Broker BHHSMT - Ennis406-570-9067Dot.Merrill@BHHSMT.com

Montana Tavern Times – 15August 2019

LICENSES FOR SALE

Just $4.50 per line

1-406-494-0100paul@tashcommunications.com

MTT • Buy • Sell • Trade

Floatable All-BeverageLiquor License

Gaming included in Havre, MT Call or text for details.

Kacie Mack, REALTOR®Lodestar Land & Home

406-930-2541

The Betsy Sports Bar and Casinoin Townsend is available to rent.Contact Townsend Properties at406-461-2534

MT floating all-beverage liquorlicense for sale. Keri Willhite, RegentRealty, 406-649-7150

Profitable, long-standing establishedcasino in Kalispell, includes beer/wine license with gaming. Two rentalsin place for added income. Propertyon prime corner with great highwayfrontage, visibility & high traffic.New parking lot, new roof, new paintin and out. $1,334,000. Will sell busi-ness and beer/wine license w/gamingseparately. Call Tom 406-862-1000, 5Star Realty.

Turn-key, newly remodeled and updat-ed, 5,140 sf building in Kalispell.Includes new FF&E, plus an all-bever-age license with gaming and catering.$1,400,000. Seller will sell buildingwith/without the FF&E, as well as theall-beverage license w/gaming. CallTom, 406-862-1000, 5 Star Realty.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE EQUIPMENT FOR SALEBUSINESSES FOR SALE BUSINESS TO RENT

10-player oblong poker table with a dropbox and sleave, locking chip tray and cover,protective table cover, table brush and 10chairs. The table has a foot rest bar. Goodcondition. Downsizing and need to sell.Great price at $1,799 (paid $2,400). Also,four used poker drop boxes (8x8x12). Oneshield included, but does not fit the boxes.$90 each or $350 for all 4 boxes and the shield. Also selling ace/king-suitedchips in great condition with racks and cases. Chips made from high-qualityclay-composite material that feel and sound like actual casino chips (900 bur-gundy, 897 white, 150 green. Chip diameter 39mm; weight 14 grams). No presetdenominations – perfect for large tournaments and small limit nights. All chips$200, three chip cases for $100, 20 chip racks for $20, or $300 for all chips,racks and cases. Email frampton@bigsky.net or call 406-270-8000.

Classified ads get fast results!

VGMs for sale: Epic & MTD $7,000each (like new with less than $40,000in play). Casino King Upright withupgraded base $2500. Royal Touchslant $1,000. All prices OBO. CallJason 406-295-4358.

Four-door glass cooler, draft-beercooler that holds 2 kegs, under-the-barcooler (all coolers work great), icemachine, 4x8 Valley pool table withaccessories, and 20 chairs. Buy indi-vidually, or as a group for $2,500.Call 406-323-2347 (leave message).

August 2019Montana Tavern Times – 16