Back in my younger days before coming to the Lord, I worked briefly selling bingo supplies in Michigan; the Knights of Columbus were big into bingo. They had a rule at the time that an organization (charities only) could only have one game a week, so many KoC’s had the organization proper doing it one night, the KoC ladies’ auxiliary doing another and the KoC building fund running yet another game. Quite a few parishes also had games.

At the time, the Chippewa Indians east of Mt. Pleasant had a big bingo hall which could have higher pots due to being immune from state regulation; they would draw folks who might otherwise take in the local charity games.

Now, the Chippewas have the Soaring Eagle casino and have prospered from their semi-independent status. In their case, the greed of the white man screwed them in the past, but now the same greed makes them wealthy.

The local churches are against it here; on the right, it’s railing against sin, while on the left it’s railing against a de-facto tax on the poor who are more likely to be drawn to the casinos. However, since fans of big government like the idea along with the casino industry, the money will be on the pro-casino side even if the voters aren’t.