SYDNEY — Instead of announcing bingo games at the New Waterford arena, rink officials are announcing ‘it’s over.’
David Wilton, chairman of the board of directors for the New Waterford and District Community Centre, said after 40 years they have decided to close their bingo.
“We went from making $60,000-$70,000 at one time as a non-profit for the rink down to $30,000 and in the last number of years it declined to where we’re not even breaking even now,” he said.
Wilton said back in the mid-1990s, upwards of 1,000 people would show up for bingo on a Friday night.
“We’re now struggling to get 340-350. We had to close it, we had to shut it down.”
Wilton said one of the big hits to bingo years ago was the casino coming to Sydney but there was also competition with other bingos. The last five years Chase the Ace impacted the game tremendously, he added.
“The was the real end to it all I think. For the extra money people do have for gaming it was kind of going towards Chase the Ace.”
Wilton said being non-profit the funds they were pulling in were important.
“That was our gravy to keep things up and running. The rink is in really good shape. Any money we brought in went back into the rink and with government grants certainly helped.”
Now Wilton plans to meet with Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Cecil Clarke in hopes of getting some sort of annual funding to help cover the costs of repairs and maintenance.
Statistics provided from the Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division of Service Nova Scotia show a steady decline in bingo licenses in the province the past 12 years including from 300 licenses in 2005-2006 to 185 in 2016-2017. There are currently about 67 bingo licenses in Cape Breton but it’s not known how many of the games are still active.
Marla MacInnis, communications with the department, said bingo operators would have a better perspective on the reasons for the decline.
“As regulators we are regulating it but are not really studying it.”
Kevin Forward, manager of the New Waterford rink for about four years, was not only there for the end of the bingo but also the beginning.
“I was a rink rat. I was going to school and hanging around the rink in the summer making a few dollars and worked at the first bingo.”
Forward said closing their bingo is very disappointing for their die-hard bingo players but was a decision that had to be made.
One of the issues is the aging population, he said.
“Each year you are getting less bingo players. You don’t get any young people, there’s just so much out there for them gambling wise there’s no interest in bingo.
Along with declining numbers Forward said this year they got off to a bad start as the second week into bingo their heating system in the stands was condemned.
“We had to remove it from the building and then shut down for a month and wait for the weather to get warm.”
Forward said prizes and the extra jackpots such as from the Jack-it-up and lucky number games are vital in attracting a crowd.
However, he said they couldn’t seem to get any momentum in these extra games, the jackpots would go every week or every second week.
“We couldn’t build the jackpots to attract the extra people to our building.”
Forward said you can’t cancel a bingo game with a building jackpot but hitting a night about a month ago where all jackpots had gone gave them that opening.
“We had to make a quick decision. We don’t belong to the CBRM, we are privately run. After contacting the board, a decision was made to cut our losses now.”
Whether or not the bingo game will be revived next year is not known, he said.
“It’s something we’ll have to sit down with the board revisit in the spring.”
In the meantime, back in the spring the rink started a Chase the Ace on Wednesday nights and currently are down to 26 cards with an estimated $10,500 jackpot. The draw is made at 8:30 p.m.
“There’s not really an impact in these games until your cards remaining hit the teens,” he said. “We’re hoping it can offset us a bit.”
Cards are sold at venues in the community, the rink and all Pharmasave stores in Sydney.
Meanwhile, there are a number of bingos remaining in the CBRM including at the Membertou Entertainment Centre.
Sheri Trask, manager of the Membertou Entertainment Centre, said there has been a decline in numbers to their games due to deaths over the years as it is an older population game. However, she said their attendance is still strong as they work at coming up with innovative ideas to attract the crowds including new games.
“We change things up periodically to keep it interesting and to attract new people as well as younger people in.”
As well, having smoking areas and full kitchen facilities help, she added.
Despite declines in bingo, Bobby Donovan, treasurer of the Y’s Men’s and Women’s Club said they are in the process of starting a bingo at their Morrison Campus Y’s Men’s Centre in Glace Bay.
“We did a survey online and there were quite a few people interested,” he said.
The game was set to start Sept. 11 however they needed three licenses — including for bingo, 50/50 tickets and jack-it-up — so had to move it up to Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. to ensure everything would be in place. Doors will open at 6 p.m.
Donovan said they are hoping it will go over well as with the colder weather coming they need money to pay for oil.
Greg Barnes, manager of the Y’s Men’s centre, said bingo was held at the Bayplex but after the facility was shut down it took away the only bingo game in the community.
“A lot of people can’t travel outside Glace Bay.”
However, Barnes said he has talked to people in New Waterford, Dominion and even Sydney interested in this bingo.
Barnes said they are looking for tables anyone would like to donate, lend or sell to their club cheap, as well as volunteers. Barnes can be reached at 902-317-4734.
sharon.montgomery@cbpost.com
