Charity
Bingo Numbers Down
As reported by the L.A. Times:
"On an oak-studded ranch east of town,
the kids are getting healed on horseback.
"…Ride
to Walk, the Placer County program is called,
and it exists in no small part because of charity
bingo.
"But
the nonprofit's flow of revenue from the local
bingo hall has shrunk in recent years, a fate
shared by many charities around California.
Most blame the scores of Indian casinos that
have sprouted across the state.
"Ride
to Walk saw its bingo profits plummet after
the swank Thunder Valley Casino opened in 2003
just up the freeway, about 20 miles north of
Sacramento. The casino and resort quickly became
what gaming analysts say is the West's most
prosperous Indian gambling emporium.
"Before
Thunder Valley, the charity's weekly bingo night
at a bare-bones hall in suburban Sacramento
fetched as much as $150,000 a year. Now its
Tuesday night session runs in the red, and the
organization suffered a net loss of $6,600 on
bingo during the last fiscal year.
"…Though
some Indian casinos have given generously to
charity, analysts estimate that revenue from
charity bingo in the state has been slashed
nearly in half in some spots near Indian casinos…"
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