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MINUTES <br />CITY COUNCIL <br />MAY 12, 1993 <br />organizations being out of compliance. Scalze asked if <br />this problem was true for other charities in the State, <br />and if the State was looking to make adjustments to <br />favor the charities in this regard. <br />Matson replied that compliance is a major problem for <br />most organizations and the Legislature is dealing with <br />the issue. A lot of charities are shutting down <br />because of this. Matson believed the State was <br />concerned about the problem since if charitable <br />gambling is eliminated, the jobs at the Gambling <br />Control Board would be eliminated. <br />LaValle did not believe the State cared for bingo, but <br />felt it could live with pull-tabs. LaValle did not <br />believe the State would make any concessions on the <br />compliance issue. <br />Matson reported that there are bingo halls that are <br />making money. Matson reported that St. Cloud was a big <br />bingo area, however, those halls are beginning to have <br />problems. Matson felt that if the Little Canada Bingo <br />Hall got back to operating with enthusiasm and good <br />marketing, it could be a viable hall. Matson reported <br />that NSYA is concerned because currently it has a <br />second day at the hall on a temporary basis. NSYA <br />feels that it needs two days to maximize its operation <br />and offset the bad nights. NSYA would like to know <br />where it stands with the City on this issue. <br />Hanson asked how other bingo halls market their <br />business. <br />Matson replied that you must spend money to make money <br />and hopefully the money spent on advertising and <br />promotions would be offset by the additional revenue. <br />Matson pointed out that the issue is not just bingo, <br />but attracting more customers in the door that will <br />spend money on pull-tabs as well. Matson reported that <br />the average customer at the bingo hall spends $20, <br />compared to $26 in Roseville and $28 in Eden Prairie. <br />Boss reported that he studied per capita spending and <br />found customers averaging $25 each on Fire Department <br />nights. Boss felt that a lot of the problem is that <br />the gambling business has become very competitive and <br />the organizations were forced to drop the price of <br />their packages. Boss also pointed out that the <br />organizations are restricted by the State on <br />advertising, since advertising expense is not a lawful <br />purpose expense. Boss also reported that it is very <br />difficult to work within the expense figures set by the <br />State for meeting compliance. <br />Page 4 <br />