A not-for-profit club in Shediac has found a way to replace revenue from lost video lottery terminals, and bingo is its name-o.
The Boishebert Club is now hosting a weekly bingo night to make up for the $50,000 in annual revenue it lost when the province redistributed VLTs in preparation for the opening of the new casino in Moncton.
Paul Belliveau, president of the club, said he hopes the lower-tech gambling can provide enough revenue to keep the club from closing down. So far the've been pulling in more than 100 people every Wednesday.
"We just couldn't believe it the first night," said Belliveau. "They started to come in, it was 4:30 and the bingo was only starting at 6:30. Everybody's telling us, 'Wait, in the fall, you're going to have a bigger and bigger crowd."
Belliveau was one of about 30 private operators who lost their VLTs in the fall of 2009. The provincial government ordered the Atlantic Lottery Coporation to unplug about 650 machines province-wide. Some business owners complained at the time that they wouldn't be able to stay open.
Belliveau said the club is investing in its own high-tech bingo machine, but that he won't know until the fall if bingo will be enough to survive on.
The $90-million Casino New Brunswick opened in May.
