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Spudco | Wide Open Saskatchewan |
Bingo
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Shucks -- we just made a mistake and we'll make
it right, says Premier Lorne Calvert regarding the blowing of
$8M on a get-rich-quick scheme which would have succeeded only
in Bingo-taxing poor folk, exploiting dreams and promoting a
slightly less addictive form of gambling than Video gambling
machines.
It didn't happen
while he was premier, but he is making sure the matter is accounted
for.
Likewise Spudco.
Martensville
and the Klassen/Kvello wrongful indcitments did not happen under
his watch either. So why can't he comment on these cases?
Because they
are "before the courts?" Give our intelligence a break!
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Bingo losses may be higher
Colleen Silverthorn,
Leader-Post, April 26, 2003
Gaming Minister Ron Osika has
asked for a review of the government's $6.2-million failed bingo
venture and admits the losses may be substantially higher than
originally thought.
"Officials alerted me
to the fact late last week that there may be other costs involved
to related projects," Osika told reporters.
While he didn't know the exact
amount of the potential increase in losses, Osika said it may
add $800,000 or more to the $6.2 million known to be lost.
"The ballpark figure was
indicated as perhaps more than $7 million. But again, don't take
that as being the figure."
Earlier this month, the Opposition
Saskatchewan Party raised questions about the government's involvement
in "mega-bingo", a project aimed at increasing bingo
attendance by connecting halls across the province by computer
for one mega game.
The government admitted it
spent about $6.2-million on the venture, which operated from
February 2000 to June 2001.
Eventually, mega-bingo was
cancelled because it failed to draw more players into halls.
Osika also admitted that the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority
(SLGA) didn't have a business plan before embarking on the project.
Now, Osika admits the bill
could climb because of projects related to mega-bingo.
"They talk about linked
bingo and the cash and paper exercise. It's an accountability
program that enhances ... accounting for monies and paper in
the bingo halls," he said, explaining that the "cash
and paper" exercise is a computer program brought in to
control the expected increase in revenues from mega-bingo.
While Osika was told of the
potential increase in losses and ordered a review into the matter
late last week, he decided against informing the public of that
review.
It only came to light after
opposition questioning in the Assembly Friday, where Saskatchewan
Party SLGA critic Brenda Bakken suggested the total losses on
mega-bingo were about $2-million more than the government first
revealed.
"Was the total loss on
mega-bingo more than $6.2-million? Was it an additional $2 million?"
Bakken asked.
She never got an answer to
that question.
Bakken also failed to get an
answer when she asked Osika to explain why Wascana Gaming, a
Regina-company with NDP connections, received a $400,000 contract
and if that contract was related to mega-bingo.
Following the debate in the
Assembly, Bakken criticized Osika for not coming forward on his
own accord to tell the public the mega-bingo project was being
reviewed and that the losses were potentially higher than first
thought.
"He's much less than forthcoming,"
Bakken said.
"It's clear that this
government is anything but accountable."
Meanwhile, Osika said that
the mega-bingo review would be completed next week and that he
didn't want to go public until he had all the details.
© Copyright 2003 The Leader-Post (Regina)
Opposition slams gov't
on bingo plan
Canadian Press, April 25,
2003
The Saskatchewan Party was
playing multiple cards Friday in the legislature when it tried
to corner the government on the mega bingo scandal.
Opposition critic Brenda Bakken
says the party has learned that losses from the failed plan to
electronically link the province's bingo halls has gone over
previous government estimates.
The province said earlier this
month that losses amounted to $6.2 million.
Bakken demanded to know what
the true figure is.
Gaming Minister Ron Osika says
the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority was asked to review
the project.
He says when it's done, he'll
be "happy" to report the findings to the legislature.
The government had previously
admitted gaming officials didn't get cabinet approval or even
develop a business plan before embarking on the venture.
Mega bingo linked 83 halls
across the province by computer, allowing players to participate
in one game with a large jackpot.
© Copyright 2003 Canadian
Press
Charities losing revenues
Veronica Rhodes ,
The Leader-Post , April 21, 2003
Bingo has been Sue Miller's
source of entertainment for more than 20 years.
She hasn't noticed a difference
in how many people are playing it since VLTs and the casino arrived
in Regina in the 1990s.
"All the regulars are
still coming," she said.
But bingo organizers are noticing
a difference and it is affecting their bottom lines.
Alice Hehn, president of the
Palace Bingo Association, which oversees the allocation of bingos
to charitable organizations, said there has been a continual
decrease in bingo hall revenues for about the last seven years.
"We all know the VLTs
and the casino definitely have made an impact on people playing
bingo," Hehn said.
The association works out of
the Regina Bingo Palace, which Hehn said is still holding its
own and is not in financial jeopardy. However, the association
oversees 47 charities that work at the hall -- all of which have
felt the decrease in revenue.
Dave Nelson, executive director
of the Canadian Mental Health Association Saskatchewan division,
said the non-profit organization made about $20,000 in each of
the last few years, compared with $60,000 to $70,000 a year before
the arrival of VLTs in 1994.
According to Lisa Ann Wood,
spokesperson for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority
(SLGA), the gross amount spent on bingos in Saskatchewan in 1992-93
was $133,536,000.
In 1994-95 -- the year VLTs
were introduced -- bingo revenues fell to $128,773,000.
In 2001-02, the gross amount
spent on bingos was $115,059,000 -- a 13.8-per-cent decrease
in gross bingo revenues in nine years.
The mental health association
did not see a benefit from the province's venture into linked
bingo with the Mega Bingo program in 2000. Nelson said after
Mega Bingo was cancelled, the association approached the government
again to address the problems bingo halls were facing.
"We are not really getting
anything I can see, some sort of compensation for the damage
that's been done to community groups' fundraising," Nelson
said.
Wood said after the cancellation
of the linked bingo program, SLGA created the Bingo Industry
Strategic Planning Committee with representatives from charities,
hall operators and bingo hall associations. Its purpose is to
find ways to revitalize the bingo industry and earn more money
for charities.
The committee is looking at
options before making any decisions, said Wood.
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
