Bingo news
Iowa Officials Clamp Down on Bingo Games at Fort Dodge
December 8, 2006, Iowa state regulators are trying to close down a bingo operation that is the primary source of money for the Fort Museum and Frontier Village. According to the spokesman of the department, David Werning, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals is hoping to revoke the bingo license for the Fort Dodge Dragoons Inc. for allegedly violating the rules of charitable gaming.
The state of revocation that has been given to Fort Dodge Dragoons Inc. says that the bingo operators have violated the following rules: They have used a percentage in their bingo profits to pay for the salary of their bingo operator. They have also used some of the funds to pay for the employees' concession stand, and lastly, by failing to purchase the hall's bingo supplies from a licensed distributor in Hawaii. The Dragoons have appealed the action by the Iowa Department of Inspection before the administrative law judge.
A hearing regarding the case is set for December 28, 2006, but David Werning of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals said that the hearing is likely to be postponed. Werning said that for the meantime, the bingo games can continue as scheduled, as long as the Fort Dodge Dragoons are appealing the case. The leader of the Fort Dodge Dragoons, Bill Ryan, declined to comment on the issue and instead referred all of the questions to the Fort Dodge Attorney Ernie Kersten, but Attorney Kersten is not answering his calls as of press time. Even the man-in-charge of the bingo operations of the Fort Dodge Casino, John Edens, cannot be reached for a comment regarding the matter.
Fort Dodge Dragoons Inc. was founded in 1974. The military-based organization was named after the first group of soldiers that passed through the area. The organization has 2 goals: 1) to promote the Fort Museum and the Frontier Village 2) to preserve the history and culture of the Fort Dodge. Will Patterson, President of the Fort Museum Board, announced that the Dragoons have annually donated about $120,000 to the historic site. Most of that money came from the bingo operations of Fort Dodge. The majority of the bingo profits were put towards the museum. The Fort Museum was a vital part in sending back the cash to the Edens and the Dragoons.
Patterson added that Edens was being paid the amount of $60,000 to manage the bingo games. Patterson also stated that the members of the board for the Fort Museum personally believed that the museum was being used to funnel the money to John Edens. The Fort Museum has not received its share of the Fort Dragoons in almost 2 months now, but fortunately they have enough money to keep the museum operating for at least one and a half years.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Danny Hudson