Charities May Be Big Bingo Winners Sponsors Could Make $75,000 Apiece From Game At Dog Track
Triumphant cries of “bingo” soon will ring out in the Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park, but the real winners could be eight local charities sponsoring the new game.
Starting April 17, Clubhouse Bingo will run every day but Monday from 11 a.m. to midnight at the track, which shut down live dog racing in December. Simulcast operations, where gamblers can wager on races at other tracks, will continue.
Bringing bingo to the spacious clubhouse had been contemplated even before live racing ended, said Nancy DiGiammarco of the Kootenai County Convention and Visitors Bureau, one of the game’s beneficiaries.
Charities approached the track last year, then run by Alabama-based ownership, about bringing bingo to the clubhouse. Boise-based Les Bois took over operations in January and will run the bingo sessions, said Chris Christian, chief executive officer for Les Bois.
Bingo will add 35 jobs to the 40 that support simulcasting. The track will receive 15 percent of the bingo grosses to market the game and pay the staff, as mandated by law.
“You bet I’m concerned that 15 percent might not cover our costs,” Christian said. “But this is a big building with a big power bill, and the rent we’ll receive from the game will help cover those costs.”
Simulcasting, which Christian said has been more successful than anticipated, will continue. He said he hopes families will do both while buying food and alcohol at the full service bar and kitchen.
The charities get 20 percent of the gross, which, according to research done by the charities, could be up to $600,000 for the rest of the year. That’s $75,000 for each charity.
“It almost seems too easy,” said Ed Phillips of the American Legion Post in Coeur d’Alene. “All we’re doing to get this money is giving our name and our bingo license. Who wouldn’t want to do this?” Each group has a slate of programs for the cash they hope to receive from Clubhouse Bingo. The six days of bingo are divided into 24 sessions, with each group getting three each week. The sessions will rotate to give each charity equal time for the more popular weekend sessions.
The region is no stranger to non-profit bingo. In fact, the overabundance of bingo shut down a popular Spokane bingo hall last October. The American Red Cross hall closed after 18 years.
Clubhouse Bingo will have to compete for players with the highly profitable Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribal Bingo facility 25 miles south of Coeur d’Alene on U.S. Highway 95. Dave Matheson, gaming director for the tribe, said he’s not worried about the competition.
The tribe recently burned the mortgage on the facility, a dozen years early. The tribe expanded the facility last year and has plans for a 40-room motel.
“We wish them good luck,” Matheson said of Clubhouse Bingo. “It would be difficult if not impossible for them to compete with us because of the size of our jackpots.”
The tribe’s bingo hall gives away $30,000 prizes each game. Clubhouse Bingo will give a maximum of $10,000 per bingo session.
Charity bingo isn’t a big business in Idaho, grossing only $5 million in 1994, according to the Idaho Lottery Commission. Under the projections Clubhouse Bingo presented Wednesday, the operation would gross $4 million on its own if projected over a year.
In Washington state, charitable bingo games generated more than $200 million in gross receipts between June 1994 and June 1995.
DiGiammarco said she wants to market the bingo games throughout the region, hopefully attracting tourists as the live dog racing did at the Greyhound Park.
xxxx CLUBHOUSE BINGO FACTS Where: Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park in Post Falls When: Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to midnight, starting April 17 Capacity: The facility can hold up to 400 players Prizes: From $50 to $10,000 Revenues: Projections are for about $4 million gross. Charities receive 20 percent, the track 15 percent for operating costs, and the rest goes back to prizes. Local organizations that benefit: Post Falls Eagles Post Falls Arts Council Post Falls Chamber of Commerce Kootenai County Convention and Visitors Bureau Kootenai County Substance Abuse Council Adult Generation Enterprises Coeur d’Alene Area Chamber of Commerce American Legion Post 14