The Connecticut Supreme Court upheld a 2003 ban on smoking in bars and restaurants on Monday, reports the Associated Press. Like the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, the Connecticut law exempts private clubs and casinos.

The law was appealed on equal protection grounds but the court there gave it pretty much the same short shrift that Judge Douglas Herndon did when the same issue was raised here. I still think the Equal Protection argument has real merit but you have to go a little beyond strict construction to make it work. (Check it out here.)

In Connecticut, the court said private clubs really were private and that Indian tribal sovereignty meant that the Legislature couldn’t force casinos to outlaw smoking. In what may be a sign of things to come here, two of the four bars that sued went out of business before the case was finally decided Monday.

The situation is a little different here. The bars here have gaming machines, not just food and liquor, and use a good part of the gaming revenue to finance the bar. Already, bar owners and slot route operators are saying that business has fallen as much as 30 percent since the ban went into effect, and that means eventually some of the most marginal operators will be driven out of business unless they develop a new schtick..