BELOIT, Wis. -- A statewide smoking ban went into effect on Jan. 1 in Illinois, and smokers looking for establishments that permit smoking could cross over into Wisconsin.

In Beloit, only establishments in which liquor makes up the majority of sales are exempt from a local smoking ban, WISC-TV reported.

Mark Berger, night manager at Turtle Tap in Beloit, said he thinks smokers will cross the border to smoke up.

"We know smoking's a big part of people's drinking," Berger said. "We don't anticipate a lot of business from it, but we do anticipate a little bit of business from Illinois."

As a smoker-friendly bar, Turtle Tap is sympathetic to the plight of Illinois smokers.

Across town, another business is optimistic of Illinois' smoking ban. Denali's Food and Spirits said it lost business when Beloit adopted its ban.

"We had a very small smoking section. It's only 10 percent of our seats," said Eric Newnham, owner of Denali's. "But they're the highest volume seats, so it was a drastic difference."

Now, Newnham said Illinois' ban has leveled the playing field, and he hopes customers will come back.

"I'm very excited for today. Today will be the first day, and I fully hope that we recapture 10 to 15 percent of our business," Newnham said of opening on Jan. 2.

Wisconsin's advantage over the Illinois smoking ban could be short lived, as both these businesses said they believe Wisconsin won't be far behind.

"We feel sorry for Illinois that they're going through this," Berger said. "And we know eventually we're going to."

"We'll probably see that happen here in Wisconsin, as well as the rest of the nation," Newnham said.

Denali's is still smoke-free, but Turtle Tap allows smoking. However, management at both businesses agreed that smokers should have an option. They said they don't know how long that will still be the case, WISC-TV reported.