Hollywood Bingo won't reopen

Windsor's Hollywood Bingo will not be reopening, says the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

In a statement issued Thursday, AGCO chief executive officer Jean Major said he considered several factors in making the decision, including the overall decline of the bingo market in Ontario and in Windsor, the city's unique border issues, and the desire to bring stability and eventual growth to the Windsor bingo marketplace.

"That's baloney," said David (Red) Wilson, 71, the former president of the Hollywood Bingo charity association. "This was the biggest market in the province."

It was in December of last year that Wilson first brought to city council a proposal to reopen Hollywood Bingo. The hall at 3975 Wyandotte St. E. has remained empty since its closure in October 2006.

"It was the second most profitable bingo hall in the city, and people from Toronto came in and shut it down," Wilson said.

According to Wilson, reopening Hollywood Bingo would provide more fundraising opportunities for every charity in the city.

But Paradise Bingo owner Mike Duval said he agrees with the AGCO decision. He said there aren't enough bingo customers in the local market to sustain another hall, and the reopening of Hollywood Bingo would make Windsor's other bingo halls suffer.

'Hurtful to other charities'

"To reopen the hall right now would be very hurtful to our charities," Duval said.

Duval said there used to be 13 bingo halls in the area, but the decline in business has forced that number down to five. He cited such factors as the drop in cross-border visitors, the popularization of Internet gaming, and the rise of the Canadian dollar.

"Right now, we're - in my opinion - already over-saturated," Duval said. "It's just not the time to be bringing in another bingo hall."

Wayne Boughner, president of the Classic Bingo V charity association, agreed with Duval and applauded the AGCO decision.

Boughner said that even without Hollywood Bingo reopening, Classic Bingo V will likely have to cut its sessions next year, further reducing charity revenues.

"The market is shrinking and to open another hall right now would've been absolutely devastating to the revenues that are being generated - and those revenues are not anything to scream about," Boughner said.

In the AGCO statement, Major said he's prepared to review the decision in 12 to 18 months, and assess if circumstances warrant a different conclusion.

Wilson said he'll keep fighting, and has "every intention in the world of setting up a meeting" with the AGCO.