It would appear that Montana Speaker of the House Scott Sales (R-Bozeman) made an informed choice when he appointed first-term Rep. Mark Blasdel (R-Somers) to the Gaming Advisory Council (GAC).
Blasdel has an extensive background in the licensed hospitality business as co-owner and operator of the Linda Vista restaurant in Somers which includes a small five-machine gaming operation.
As such, Blasdel will bring to the council the perspective of a licensee as well as that of a law and policy maker.
The Montana Tavern Times visited with Blasdel in mid-October at his establishment tucked up in the timber about a quarter mile off Highway 93 along the north shore of Flathead Lake. As you emerge from the trees, it is somewhat surprising to encounter the substantial restaurant and tavern layout, which includes a recently aded outdoor pavilion that will accommodate 250 people for special events such as weddings.
The facility was once a five-car garage, Blasdel explains, which was remodeled into a restaurant, with a major addition that features a private banquet room added later.
Even though his family owned and ran a wheat and cattle operation in the Flathead Valley homesteaded by his ancestors, his mother, Alice, got into the foodservice business in 1981 when she bought the original Linda Vista which had opened in the 1960's and was situated adjacent to Highway 93 where the current Mackinaw's restaurant is now located.
According to Blasdel, it was a good business that earned a good reputation for its Mexican fare, but the structure was marginal and his mother closed it down in 1991.
"She just got tired of it; seven days a week," Blasdel says.
In the meantime, Blasdel graduated from Flathead High School in 1994, then attended college at the University of Las Vegas-Nevada studying hospitality administration and business management, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1997.
He says he was contemplating staying in Las Vegas, the capital of the hospitality business, to pull down the big dollars of the big time. But then his mother called him and asked if he'd be interested in partnering up to open a new version of the Linda Vista.
They applied for one of three new quota licenses that had become available and were selected to apply for one. After acquiring the current property, which once hosted a 200-tree cherry orchard, they set about remodeling the existing garage and the restaurant/tavern opened in June of 1998, with the help of a good banker who recognized a sound business history in the Blasdels.
All the while Mark's mother had the foodservice contract at Flathead Valley Community College and also ran a catering operation out of the same kitchen. The FVCC contract was let go in 2001 in order for the Blasdels to focus on Linda Vista, where off-premise catering, including adult beverages, remains an important business department.
In fact, the day of the interview, Blasdel was at work early, bedecked in his cook's apron, in order to prepare a catering job for later that day. The business provides catering services "from Browning to Ronan," Blasdel says.
Four years ago Mark married Renae and they now have a daughter, Elizabeth May, of 20 months.
"Family life has been a great experience," he says. "It changes everything."
But nothing remains constant. In 2006, Blasdel was approached by some local folks who encouraged him to run for the House seat in District 10 which was held by an incumbent Republican. It stretches from Lakeside on the west shore of Flathead Lake to just west of Kalispell and encompasses about 10,000 residents.
"As a business owner - even as a citizen - you start to watch what's going on; taking an interest," he said of his political aspirations.
The district is solidly conservative so Blasdel reasoned he'd have his toughest contest in the primary. He campaigned hard for more than four months, six nights a week, knocking on "a couple of thousand doors" in the process.
He admits that working in a retail business put him in regular contact with many of his future constituents, which presented a fine opportunity to campaign a little even while he earned a living.
He took the primary contest with about 60 percent of the Republican vote, then won the general election by an even wider margin. He served his freshman term in 2007.
After the session, legislators are asked to apply for interim committees and other related assignments and Blasdel put his name in for the Gaming Advisory Council and Speaker Sales honored the request. He attended his first council meeting in August, which was primarily an orientation session for three new members.
Even though Linda Vista is licensed for gaming, Blasdel contends he's "not really that knowledgeable" but is committed to getting up to speed on current hot-button gaming issues.
"I appreciate the business and what people do in it," he says. "I don't see how many of these owners could make it without gaming income.
These businesses produce a significant, important revenue stream" for state government. "Their interests need to be considered and protected. I hope to be able to contribute to keeping an even keel between business and government."
Blasdel said he expects tribal gaming to be an important issue.
"Tribal/non-tribal gaming regulation needs to be on an even playing field," he says,"otherwise it becomes a slippery slope."
His own observation is that the November 2006 end of Class III gaming on the Flathead Indian Reservation just to his south "hasn't hurt" adjacent non-tribal operators and has "maybe helped."
The tribes allowed a previous compact with the state to expire, ending Class III gaming for the tribe and non-tribal operators as well.
The tribes of the Flathead Reservation continue to rely solely on Class II gaming which is supposed to be limited to "traditional" games like bingo and raffles, but has theoretically evolved via favorable federal court decisions into high stakes, high tech versions of electronic "bingo" machines that play much like Las Vegas slot machines and are in fact openly advertised as "slots."
While acknowledging that compulsive gambling is a real problem, Blasdel holds that the private sector, particularly the gaming industry, can and is operating the programs to deal with it through their sponsorship of the 24-hour problem gambling help line and continued support of the non-profit Montana Council on Problem Gambling and its group therapy treatment programs.
"It really is a matter of personal responsibility," Blasdel says. "The person pushing the button must be ready to change" before the problem can be effectively confronted. "If the state were to operate the program, there would be too much money consumed in administration and not enough would get to those who need the help."
So while learning the intricacies of issues facing the Gaming Advisory Council, Blasdel will continue to work the 60-70 hour weeks it takes to operate Linda Vista, even in the "slow off-season" (he says the business earns 65-70 percent of its income during the tourist-intensive summer months).
He cites a tight local labor market and a minimum wage now set to rise automatically in the future as adding to the difficulty of running a restaurant. The ever increasing entry-level wage has forced him to raise prices, he says.
"It's hard to find (student) help," Blasdel says, since many contemporary parents simply don't want their kids to work and so cover all their spending needs. "And even high school sports have become like a full-time job with two-a-day practices, time required in the weight room... It's too bad that some of these kids either can't play sports if they want to work and earn money, or else can't work if they want to play sports."
Blasdel says he has come to rely almost exclusively on family and part-time adult help to operate the business.
He employs a number of adults "who work just one or two days a week to make a little extra. They don't burn out too fast that way. It's a tight labor market. Some love the business; for others it's just a job. But it is still a good opportunity to learn and to make some great money."
Meanwhile his mother remains active in the business and so does a sister, Prudence. His wife, he says, "does everything."
Hopefully, he says, he may be able to squeeze a little time from business operations, campaigning, legislative and council work and family obligations to indulge in a little travel (he likes Mexico, Alaska and the East Coast, he says), as well as some big game hunting, a little fishing and some sports spectating.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, November, 2007, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.