Amador County – Amador County Recreation Agency on Tuesday received a nonprofit bingo license from Jackson City Council, and the first bingo game is going to be held May 7.

ACRA Executive Director Tracy Towner said the games will be set up to benefit any nonprofit groups that want to volunteer to help run bingo nights.

The money can go to tangibles for parks, park development, benches, lawn mowers. It can help groups that exist to support a cause and help the community move forward, such a science camp, 4-H, Friends of the Library, A-PAL, the Knight Foundry, the Cemetery Committee and other nonprofits.

Towner said the Jackson Rancheria Band of Miwuk Indians has been a big supporter of the ACRA bingo project, in partnership with the Amador Community Foundation. The Rancheria donated bingo cards, and the caller’s tumbler machine that selects the bingo game’s numbers and letters. They also donated daubers and cards, and a console for the bingo. Towner said “that in and of itself is huge.” Now she must figure out how it works. She plans to have a corps of 3-4 volunteers who will run the games on a regular basis and teach people from beneficiary organizations how to run them, then hand over the controls of games to the groups.

The permits and games are regulated by Jackson city code, and bingo game workers must be volunteers. Beneficiary groups must be nonprofit organizations and funds raised may not go to salaries and wages. That’s the law, Towner said.

ACRA program coordinator Kathy Simmons is in charge of lining up all of the beneficiaries, and partner organizations. Towner said: “I am very excited about it.”

Towner said the bingo fundraiser proceeds will first go to pay rent and overhead costs, and then 10 percent of proceeds will go to the Amador Community Foundation. 45 percent of proceeds will go to ACRA, and 45 percent will go to the charitable organization that helps run the game.

The bingo games will be played 6-10 p.m. on the first, third and fifth Monday of each month, at Thomi’s Banquet Room in Jackson. The room capacity is 250 people, and if bingo is wildly popular the days may extend to every Monday night.

Towner said they hope to get about 200 people a night, and prizes will likely start small. Part of the overhead is prizes, and city code limits jackpots to $250 maximum. She said Thomi’s will be selling food at a snack bar during bingo nights, with non-alcoholic drinks, and people likely can order off Thomi’s menu.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.