A whopping 532 individuals and businesses, including many speculators, have applied for 124 new state restaurant beer and wine licenses in 19 areas under a new law.

State Liquor Control Division Administrator Shauna Helfert said she was surprised by the number of applications for these licenses, popularly known as cabaret licenses.

In Bozeman and Belgrade, 172 people and businesses applied for 12 licenses. Missoula drew 80 applicants for 12 licenses, while Billings attracted 50 applications for 22 licenses. Forty-three individuals and businesses are seeking 10 licenses in Whitefish and Columbia Falls, while 41 submitted their names for seven licenses in Helena and East Helena. Ennis drew 26 applications for four licenses.

Butte and Great Falls are not part of the lottery, because both have existing cabaret licenses available for purchase.

Many applicants appear to be speculators who applied in many cities, often having multiple relatives separately submit their names, to enhance their chances.

For example, Michael Cetraro of Helena and Andrew and Natoshia Cetraro of Bozeman separately applied for licenses in most areas. They could not be reached for comment.

So did Polson lawyer Douglas Wold and his wife Linda, who threw in their separate names for licenses in at least 13 areas. Their son and daughter-in-law, Chad and Ashley Wold of Whitefish, applied in at least two locations. Linda Wold declined comment when asked about the multiple applications.

The Liquor Control Division next week will conduct lotteries in Billings, Bozeman, Helena and Missoula for the licenses.

Preferences will go to restaurants that have been open at least a year and for those that have failed to get a cabaret license in previous lotteries. Some applicants have a double preference and will be move to the front of the line to receive cabaret licenses.

Cabaret licenses differ in several ways from conventional all-beverage licenses held by a number of restaurants.

Holders of cabaret licenses are prohibited from installing electronic gambling machines and from having sit-down bars. At least 65 percent of these restaurants' income must come from food, and they can be open only from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

Cabaret licenses also are considerably cheaper. All-beverage licenses in some cities now sell for upwards of $900,000.

The 124 new cabaret licenses are the result of a new law, sponsored by Sen. Dan Weinberg, D-Whitefish. The state already has 304 cabaret licenses available, with 136 issued and five pending.

"The high numbers are showing that the law was badly needed," Weinberg said Tuesday. "I think most of us believe in capitalism. I don't think it's the job of the state to restrict the number of restaurants that do business. It's very, very hard to make it as a restaurant serving an evening meal without beer and wine."

Weinberg, who was asked to draw the lottery winners in Missoula next week, broke the applications down into three categories.

The first group is what he calls "the priorities," the restaurants that have been running for at least a year and have failed to get a previous cabaret license. Then, Weinberg said, are those making up "the big middle ground."

"Then there are the speculators," he said. "I would like to think that nobody's going to get one on speculation."

He doesn't believe the law allows someone to win multiple licenses in a number of cities.

Mark Staples, attorney and lobbyist for the Montana Tavern Association, said the huge number of applicants doesn't mean much.

"When the wheat separates from the chaff, existing restaurants are going to get the preference, and they should," Staples said. "This isn't some land rush when people who've never flipped a burger, tossed a salad or poured a beer, much less created a fine dining atmosphere, go out as a family enterprise to try to corral as many licenses as they can. These licenses were created for restaurants. It's not the family speculative portfolio license."

Staples, who helped draft the law, said cabaret licenses can be sold with a restaurant, but not separately.

Those winning the lottery must pay a one-time fee ranging from $5,000 to $20,000, depending on the seating capacity of a restaurant. The annual renewal fee is $400.

The law also provides that no more than one-fourth of the licenses can go to restaurants with seating capacities of more than 101.

Once the drawings are held, the winners have 30 days to submit their formal applications to the Liquor Control Division, Helfert said. It generally takes the division 60 to 90 days to complete financial and criminal background investigations before issuing the license.

Lottery schedule

Here is the schedule for the lotteries by the Revenue Department's Liquor Control Division to determine the winners of the 124 new restaurant beer and wine licenses. These drawings are open to the public.

Aug. 7:

Billings, 9 a.m., Metra Park, Yellowstone Room, 308 6th Ave. N., for the Billings quota area.

Bozeman, 2 p.m., Best Western Grantree Inn, Aspen Room, Interstate 90 and North Seventh Avenue for these quota areas: Bozeman/Belgrade, West Yellowstone, Virginia City, Ennis and Twin Bridges.

Aug. 8:

Helena, 9 a.m., City-County Building, Third Floor, Chambers Room, Room 330, 316 N. Park Ave., for the Helena/East Helena quota area.

Missoula, 2 p.m., Holiday Inn Missoula, Parlor C, Downtown at the Park, 200 South Pattee St. for these quota areas: Missoula, Stevensville, Hamilton/Pinesdale, Darby, Philipsburg, Kalispell, St. Ignatius, Eureka/Rexford and Whitefish/Columbia Falls.