Manitowoc - 31 March, 2006 -

Doris Weber, 70, spends about $130 each month to play bingo. "It gets me away from just sitting in my room and playing on the computer," Weber said Monday night in the Merchants Building at Manitowoc County Expo. With her dozen lucky ink daubers, she was ready to mark numbers on six sheets for each of 20 games. But, it would be another 40 minutes before Manitowoc Noon Optimist Club member Gary Prigge would take the microphone and declare, "Let's play some bingo! The first number ... B12 ... the next number I28." Weber was one of 120 players at the bingo game sponsored by the local service organization. Most were senior women, several were in wheelchairs or had walkers near their chairs at the long tables set up for the event. Matthew Walters, 13, was one of the few non-AARP eligible people ready to play. "If I wasn't here, I'd be playing Day of Reckoning II on my Nintendo," Weber's grandson said. Without an infusion of youth or new players of any age bingo in Manitowoc County is at risk of fading away. That would mean less revenue for charities and causes supported by groups like the Optimists and Newton Lions. Each group now runs one bingo night per month, after many years of weekly bingo sessions. "The last six months of 2005, we ended up with a loss of $600, when you take in all the expenses," said Optimist Club member John Krey. There is a $100-per-session fee to the county for utilities, taxes and fees paid to the state of Wisconsin, and the cost of bingo sheets and other supplies. Revenue stays local Denise Thomas is a Newton Lion who works the club's bingo night the second Monday of each month. The Optimists hold games on the fourth Monday. "Everything goes back to our charities," Thomas said. Last year, the club cleared about $3,000. In years past, the Newton Lions often made double that amount. "Our Special People Fun Day is for physically and mentally challenged. It's a wonderful event, and when you see the faces of those people we are putting on the picnic for, working every bingo is worth it," Thomas said. She wasn't ready to blame the expanded Oneida Bingo & Casino in Green Bay, which opened in 1993, for the decline of local bingo. But several players said they travel 40 miles north on a regular basis, sometimes winning a much larger bingo jackpot. "Take your chance at winning the $250,000 JumbOneida game every session," trumpets its Web site. Manitowoc's David Sladkey won a $40 game Monday night at Expo, with another split with two other players. His wife, Joann, won $40. The couple went home with $93. "I had a $3,800 payout one time at Oneida," he said. "Why do I go there? I'm disabled. I've got nothing else to do. I play bingo because it's cheaper than other games. "Slots suck. Sometimes, you're lucky, sometimes not and you can lose a lot of money quick," said Sladkey, 65. A new Wisconsin law will allow charitable organizations, like the Optimists and Lions, to offer larger payouts. There still needs to be sufficient revenue coming in to have $500 payouts for single games to make profit-and-loss sense. Knowing they can't compete with Oneida on payouts, the Lions and Optimists are trying a different strategy to keep regulars coming back and entice newcomers. Less cost, lower payouts John Krey is one of about 10 Optimists who can be counted on to volunteer at most every bingo session. He said the amount going to winners each game has decreased, but so has the cost of playing. It costs $5 to have three sheets for each of 20 games, $10 for six sheets, and $15 for nine. That's half of what the clubs used to charge. On Monday, 16 games had $40 payouts, three "specials" would generate $75 for a sole winner, and the final "blackout" game was worth $135. Krey would like to see a resurgence of bingo, so his group can make a generous allocation to the city's proposed water park, in addition to contributions to area youth sports teams and other organizations. In 2003, it donated $5,000 to the Community Built Playground. Krey, who often calls the bingo games at Expo, claims he's the only Optimist who plays the game that dates back nearly 500 years. "I enjoy the chance to win something," said Krey, who occasionally goes to the casino at Oneida. He also is a regular player at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Mishicot, for its weekly Sunday afternoon bingo. He is uncertain how to reverse the decline in attendance and revenue. "That's the $64 question," he said. Poker in the future? The two service clubs have had preliminary discussions about hosting poker sessions. They would have their own set of Wisconsin Gaming Commission requirements and expenses, and require a large volunteer commitment to stage the form of gambling favored by many young adults. For now, the Optimists and Lions will focus on bingo, and try to attract a new generation. "For $5 you can have a nice social evening out, be with your family," Thomas said. One has to be 18 to play bingo, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, like Ryan Gorecki, 11. He was seated next to his mother Monday night. If he won the final game of "blackout" every single number on his sheet called by Prigge and its $135 payout, what would he do with the money? "Help my dad pay his bills and buy a new car," said the Jefferson Elementary School fifth-grader.

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