Bingo news
Orangeville and District Bingo Hall Closes Due to Smoking Ban
On December 10, 2006, the announcement was made that there will no longer bebingo games at the Orangeville and District Bingo Hall located at the Mono Plaza on Highway 10. In accordance with the decision made by the association board at a general meeting regarding the shut-down of the entire operation, Sunday night was the last day of operation.
According to Board President, Renate Schuetz, they could not continue the bingo operations because of the drop in the number of patrons attending their bingo nights. The Orangeville and District Bingo hall was supported not only by those living in Orangeville and the surrounding area, but by players from Durham, Dundalk, Erin, Fergus and Mount Forest.
It was a very difficult decision for them to make. Ms. Schuetz said that the closure of the bingo hall is a great loss for the community, due to the loss of the thousands of dollars from bingo revenues for the various community projects. The Orangeville and District Bingo Hall was operated by a charitable organization that supports local charities in the area that use bingo as a way to raise the funds for their own projects.
Ms. Schuetz added that the people in the community will begin to feel the effect of the closure when cash subsidies for youth activities in the community, like hockey, will no longer be available. Bingo halls in the area have felt the initial effects of the smoking ban imposed last May.
Ms. Schuetz stated that their bingo hall saw a small drop in their profits, but the numbers improved initially because the bingo games in the hall were scheduled with periodic smoke breaks for smokers. She further stated that she does not really know why the numbers have plummeted, but the sad fact remains that they have, so the association board had to make the difficult decision of closing down the bingo hall.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Danny Hudson