A leading UK bingo club will be raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care Charity during the month of March.  The club will be taking donations for this charity in return for a yellow flower pin.  The Marie Curie Charity provides care for terminally ill cancer patients who remain at home during their final battle with cancer. 

Fundraising for Cancer Patients

A bingo club in the UK will be supporting the Marie Curie Cancer Care fundraising event this March.  This charity has their annual fundraiser called the Great Daffodil Appeal where donations are taken in exchange for a yellow flower pin.  The bingo club is asking their staff and customers for donations and will be holding auctions for the charity and hosting yellow inspired occasions to raise money.  The Daffodil Appeal is the largest fundraiser that Marie Curie hosts and all volunteers are encouraged to display their flower pins in support of cancer patients.

About Marie Curie

The funds that are raised go to the care of terminally ill cancer patients at their homes.  The bingo club has participated in the Marie Curie fundraising event for three years and has helped raise over £400,000.  Marie Curie and the bingo club hope that people will wear their pins to raise awareness and money for this noble cause and ultimately to give cancer patients the best care available in their time of need.  The flower pins can be obtained at the bingo club, Marie Curie’s shops, website, and volunteers as well as the bingo club.

Milton McGregor was found not guilty on all charges in the bingo corruption case.  McGregor and the other defendants were charged with accepting or offering bribes in regards to legislation that was created to protect bingo casinos from being closed by the state of Alabama.  Jurors deliberated for seven days before reaching their decision on Wednesday, March 7^th 2012. 

Case Background

The investigation began when three Alabama legislators told the FBI they would receive contributions to their campaigns if they voted for a 2012 gambling bill to stop the shut-down of bingo casinos.  Recording devices and tapped phone calls were used to gather evidence against McGregor and the other defendants in regards to accepting or offering bribes.  Alabama Governor Bob Riley also created a task force that seized bingo machines as they were said to be slot machines and not electronic bingo machines before any gambling bills were passed.  Ronnie Gilley, Country Crossing’s casino developer and lobbyists Jarrod Massey and Jennifer Pouncy entered guilty pleas of conspiracy.  Former Representative Terry Spicer entered a guilty plea to accepting bribes from Gilley and Massey and they were used as witnesses in the trial of McGregor and others.

The Trial and Verdict

Federal prosecutors in this trial alleged that lobbyists and casino operators offered free polling, campaign contributions, fund-raising concerts, and additional incentives for votes in support for the 2010 gambling bill.  Prosecutors based their case on their witnesses and evidence obtained through phone calls and recorded conversations to project McGregor and the other defendants as criminals.  Prosecutors said the defendants were driven by money, greed, and power that lead them to bribery.  Defense attorney Joe Espy there was simply not enough proof to indicate bribery and that the prosecutors’ were only trying to advance their political careers with loose evidence and witnesses that received plea bargains.  The first trial took place in the summer of 2011 where jurors were deadlocked on some of the charges and decided on a verdict of not guilty on the others.  Prosecutors only presented their evidence for 2 weeks compared to the 7 weeks they spent on evidence presentation in the first trial.  McGregor and all the other defendants were found not guilty on the 3 charges of federal programs bribery and not guilty on the conspiracy charge the morning of March 7^th, 2012

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Mike Cooper resigned his position as Kentucky Tourism Commissioner after he violated state ethics laws. Cooper made an unauthorized trip to London to meet with Gosh P.R. firm. Kentucky Tourism officials are also displeased with the description of “Roadkill Bingo” on Gosh P.R.’s website stating that it is factually inaccurate and offensive to the state and people of Kentucky.

Resignation of Mike Cooper

Mike Cooper resigned on February 29^th, 2012 as Kentucky Tourism Commissioner after he was involved in overseeing a controversial $179,900 contract with British marketing firm, Gosh P.R. On February 28^th it was reported that Gosh P.R. paid for Cooper’s event tickets, expenses, and meals while he was in London on an unauthorized visit in June of 2011. This is considered to be a state ethics violation and the cabinet has ordered Cooper to repay all the money he was loaned by Gosh P.R. The controversy continues with the content about a game called “Roadkill Bingo” that is featured on Gosh P.R.’s website as one of Kentucky’s tourist attractions. “Roadkill Bingo” is a game where travelers count how many deceased animals they encounter on Kentucky highways. The Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet of Kentucky stated that this content is offensive, stereotypical, and factually incorrect. The Cabinet demanded that the website be disabled on February 28^th, 2012 and the next day the Cabinet also dissolved their contract with Gosh P.R. The cost of the contract since 2008 is $647,769 and the website cost the state of Kentucky $20,000 per year. After the contract was dissolved Cooper announced he is resigning which will be effective on March 15^th, 2012. Cooper received $111,353 per year in income as the Kentucky Tourism Commissioner.

Cooper’s Additional Transgressions

In December 2007, Cooper was made Kentucky Tourism Commissioner and served for 2 years before any problems arose. In 2009 until present, Cooper was reprimanded by the Tourism Cabinet and his pay was withheld for 5 days because he travelled without authorization and misused his credit card given to him by the state. Cooper had been monitoring Gosh P.R.’s website and had previously suggested corrections but it seems he stopped monitoring the site since the “Roadkill Bingo” article was posted at the end of 2011. Tourism Cabinet members have stated that their contract with Gosh P.R. has been a great waste of taxpayers’ money because the website has simply promoted offensive stereotypes and not the true essence of Kentucky.

San Francisco is famous for many things, and bingo is certainly one of them. This wildly entertaining, artistic and oftentimes extravagant city is home to a population of thrill seekers. And in this vein, bingo features prominently in gaming circles. One of the hottest new cafes in SF is Actual Café.  The owner, a smooth-looking made guy named Sal Bednarz had the distinct honour of teaming up with Steffy Sue (a starlet entertainer) for Thursday night bingo magic.

Bingo Treats with Bingo Meets

On Thursday night, 23 February 2012, a stationery vintage Schwinn Bicycle set featured at the end of the bingo room. This was no ordinary Schwinn Bicycle. It showcased a novel bingo cage that was affixed to the back seat. The bingo hopper was attached to the bicycle chain, so that as the bike was being ridden the bingo hopper was spinning. The bingo balls would then move down bingo chute. And none other than the gorgeous Steffy Sue was riding a bicycle. She was kitted out in a stylish outfit, with a beautifully done up hairdo. The crowd in attendance at Actual Café was anxiously awaiting the bingo calls. Of course they had to act quickly because there were no automatic bingo daubers available. The crowd of players had to manually daub their own cards with their own bingo markers. And the chant rang out: This Is Not Your Grandma’s Bingo!

A Thriving Base of Players in Attendance

Steffy Sue got loads of attention on the night and she was a deserving recipient of such overwhelming praise. Succulent foods, delicious drinks and a startling selection of entrees and hors d’oeuvres were available for players to enjoy. The entire mood was buoyed by an atmosphere of merriment and expectation. 75 Ball Bingo is played on 5 x 5 bingo cards with the numbers one through 75. The letters B, I, N, G, O make up the 5 columns with 15 numbers assigned to each letter. And this was no ordinary bingo game because the owner of Actual Café – Sal Bednarz – requested audience members to come to the front of the restaurant and ride the bicycle to help out. This just goes to show that bingo is a community game where interaction and community cheer is alive and well.

Prizes Galore, Cheers and More

Each and every week Sal collects all of the bingo takings (donations begin at $3 each) as well as a percentage of Actual Café’s takings and donates it to a worthwhile charity. There are for specific charities that Sal has in mind: first Thursday of every month goes to East Bay Bicycle Coalition, on the second Thursday of every month the goes to Rebuilding Together Oakland, on the third Thursday of every month it goes to East Bay College Fund and on the last Thursday of every month. The charities donated to the United Roots Oakland.