BINGO A HOT POLITICAL ISSUE? YOU BET!

My mother used to enjoy an evening out once or twice a week, playing bingo with friends at one of the local veterans organizations' buildings in Hattiesburg. She had a specific amount of money that she budgeted for those trips, and was careful not to go over that amount. Many of her friends did the same thing. It was not so much the thought of winning money; she figured not breaking even, but more a time to get away from the hum-drum life of a South Mississippi housewife and socialize with friends.

Here in Florida, bingo has become a hot political issue, as Lakeland Ledger political columnist Bill Rufty reports today. Churches and veterans groups have been feeling the pinch from losing players to professional, for-profit bingo parlors which can offer bigger jackpots, and want to change the law regulating bingo to be more competitive. The Bush administration wants no part of it, seeking to thwart increased gambling across Florida.

But the idea of higher or cumulative jackpots, currently not permitted for non-profit bingo games, is not the sticking point. It's the non-profits' wish to offer what is known as "grey market machines" that offer prizes. It's considered too close to slot machines for Jeb and crew, and they have promised to veto any effort that includes such machines.