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Huge Jackpots Revive Mainstay of Charities29 August 2000ROSEVILLE, MICHIGAN –Aug. 29, 2000 – As reported by The Detroit News: "…Since March, progressive bingo has pumped money and life into Michigan's foundering charitable bingo games, which had been on the decline since the proliferation of casinos in Metro Detroit and progressive bingo jackpots in Canada. "State charitable gaming officials say they won't know the full impact until bingo license holders submit annual reports at the end of September. But some officials who run bingos for charitable organizations report revenues are up at least 25 percent to 30 percent during the first five months since the law was changed. "…St. Margaret Catholic Church in St. Clair Shores used the money it raised for a big repair bill. "…The St. Margaret Catholic Church bingo expects to almost double its group's profits -- from $60,000 last year to nearly $100,000 this year. The big profit was timely. St. Margaret has a $65,000 bill to repair a church wall. "The number of charitable bingo licenses in the state dropped about 25 percent from 1993-99 -- from 2,127 to 1,601. But the advent of progressive bingo is changing that, too. "…Many bingos in Canada have jackpots of $2,000 each session and pay about $5,000 for the entire session. Canada also has a progressive bingo, called SuperStar, linked to all 200 bingo halls in Ontario in which jackpots have hit $600,000 and routinely reach $200,000. "There is no limit on the progressive bingo jackpot, which is a separate game from the regular session, which still pays $2,000. "Progressive bingo starts with a $500 jackpot and rolls over each week if no player completely covers his card in the prescribed number of calls. The number of calls starts at 50 and increases by one each week until someone wins. If the jackpot isn't won, consolation prizes of $100 are awarded…" |