With Revenues Down, will it be the Final Curtain call Ferndale Bingo Hall?

Because of the Smoking Ban, a Ferndale Bingo Hall and the third of the local funding for charitable projects in the community may be the latest victim to this law that has been imposed by the state, which prohibits anyone from smoking in public especially in enclosed spaces and other areas.

Last Month, the Bingo 262 Building located in Ferndale was put up on the market by Whatcom County's Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services because of a 20% percent decrease in player attendance in the hall and it no longer produces a good revenue income for the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services though once, the bingo hall had been a major source of income for the said agency.

Both employees of the bingo hall and Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services blame the problems that the bingo hall is facing right now to the point of closure to the general decline of the bingo undustry itself and the law that prohibts anyone smoking inside buildings and around businesses in the Washington State called the Initiative 901.

The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services Organization's executive director, Kathleen Marshall commented that she did not think that anyone know about the consequences when the I-901 was proposed and ultimately implemented throughout the city. No one have thought about the effect of the Initiative to all those who will be directly once it comes into force.

The building inquestion, Bingo 262 building is just located at the east of Interstate 5 which are owned by Kathleen Marshall's organization. Last year, before the ban, it have generated about $325,000 dollars in profits alone. But after the ban last December, the situation is rather bleak as the bingo hall struggles and barely been breaking even on its revenues. Executive Director Kathleen Marshall acknowledges that their agency have only collected $5,000 dollars from the bingo hall this year and when compared to last year, it is really a big loss.

Another factor would be that after the September 11 attacks, their customers especially from Canada are now having a hard time crossing the border because of more stringent rules now than before and the remaining players in the area have been driven away because of the smoking ban and are now playing to trinal owned casinos because the law does not extend there.

The State's gambling commission has the authority to regulate bingo halls with the exception if it is located in a reservation like the tribal casinos. The development director of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services Organization, Manca Valum, said that he is positive that his organization can rebound from its financial difficulties right now with the help of private donations and fundraisers and insists that the sale of the building will have adverse effect on their daily operations. Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services offers a 24 hour hotline, legal support and counseling for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.

Manca Valum also added that he is pretty confident that the community is concerned about these two very important issues and would not let them down and the community would gear up to support these two important programs, especially the women.

Their are long time employees of the Bingo 262 who really take their role seriously like Aileen Birmingham, the manager for the bingo hall who said that they are really disheartened over the situation because the money that they earned really goes to programs that are their to help people who are victims with this kind of violence and crimes.

A regular player at the hall, Donna Seward, who lives in Blaine said that she do not know what she wil do in her free time if ever the sale of Bingo 262 pushed through and if that happens, she is going to miss it really bad.