If my kid is "selling pull tab tickets" in a bingo hall, what is she doing, exactly?

Factual Questions
1

La Principessa has auditioned for the Middle School Show Choir, and one of their ongoing fundraising “things” is to “do bingo”. When I finally raised my hand and asked exactly what “doing bingo” entailed, I was told that the kids (and parents) “sell pull tab tickets for a dollar” down at the local bingo hall (it’s either Elks or VFW, I don’t remember which). I was afraid to inquire what a “pull tab ticket” was, as they were already all laughing at me because I didn’t know what “doing bingo” meant (never having been in a bingo hall in my life). There were knowing glances exchanged, and sly references to “bingo culture”.

So what is a “pull tab ticket”, exactly, and what does “selling pull tab tickets” entail, and is this something a well-brought up 12-year-old girl should be doing? I was assured that the bingo hall was “no smoking”, as though that made a difference.

2

Here you go DDG, all about pull tabs.

3

Pull tabs come in several forms. Another is a sheet the size of a paperback book with a hundred little tags glued to it. The customer tears off as many as she wants to pay for , and she writes her name by the number(s) she drew. If her number comes up, she wins half, or 80%, or 90% of the pot. Depending on the charity, she may be encouraged to bump part of her winnings back to the house.

4

Pull tabs come in several forms. Another is a sheet the size of a paperback book with a hundred little tags glued to it. The customer tears off as many as she wants to pay for , and she writes her name by the number(s) she drew. If her number comes up, she wins half, or 80%, or 90% of the pot. Depending on the charity, she may be encouraged to bump part of her winnings back to the house.

5

So, why do they have to have kids walking around the bingo hall selling them during the evening? Don’t people just buy them at the beginning?

I’m mainly concerned that it’s like the “cigarette girls” in the old 1940s movies, with the cigar-chomping high rollers stuffing 20 dollar bills down the front of their dresses.

6

It’s like a scratch-off lottery ticket, except instead of scratching stuff off, you pull the little tabs to reveal symbols (the ones I’ve seen are similar to slot-machine symbols), and certain combinations are winners.

They have these in Minnesota, usually in VFW-type places, but it really doesn’t have anything to do with the game of bingo at all. (I know what a pull-tab is, but I would have been just as baffled as you are by the phrase “doing bingo”.) It is a type of gambling, though. I’m kind of surprised that they would have 12-year-olds selling them, myself, but, then again, 12-year-olds sell raffle tickets and things like that.

7

Sounds like some kind of wild town this ‘Decatur, Illinois’…what you reckon the high rollers do after Bingo ?

8

London: Probably eat somewhere dangerous, like Shoney’s.

9

Yeah right, Derleth ! Next you’ll be telling me the ‘heat’ they’re carrying is heartburn.

10

here’s a GREAT life lesson -

12 yr-old girl taking money from fat old guys in the middle of whatever the fat old guys do a VFW halls.

Next up: Taxi Dancing!

11

Duck Duck Goose,
If this is going on while people are actually playing Bingo, or during the time that Bingo is “in session” you might want to check on the legality of the situation. My mom has helped run the Bingo days at the local senior center for years and she tells me that children can’t even be in the building while the session is going on. I think this is a state law and since we’re both in Illinois, your parent group might be in trouble with this. I don’t know whether you want to be the one to tell them that, though. :slight_smile:

12

I used to do security at a bingo hall, occasionally, and got to see the seedy side of things, and the place I worked was pretty clean comparativly. YMMV, but heres how it works in Texas(or did back then)

Bingo games are required to be run by a charity of some sort. this was to keep things clean. Didnt work.

You see, a company sets up a bingo hall, sets up the concessions, and then rents it to the charities. Perfectly legal, but a more realistic view of things is the bingo hall runs a bunch of games, and makes a bunch of money. They agree to give a token amount to the charity in order to use thier name to legitimize things. The charities have little to do with the running of the games, and make a comparitivly small profit off of the games. While it was nothing I could prove, the games pretty easily could have been fixed. All the employees of the hall were also relatives of the owner, and they all were very well paid considering what they did to earn it. I remember one day they had a special prize of a cruise or some such other big prize. they guy who won was the friend of one of the employees. This guy never played bingo before or after. The one time he plays, he wins.

And from what I heard from other people, this hall was one of the cleaner run places in the area.

I wouldnt want my child involved with these people…

13

I’d be very surprised if in any place where gambling is regulated minors were allowed to sell tickets…

14

My experience with bingo was with an Optimist club, and it was rather different from what bdgr described. With this one being at an Elk or VFW lodge, it might be closer to what I know.

One Optimist club in our area owned (or leased) the hall, which they also used for their monthly meetings. They had a weekly game there one night of the week, and rented it out to other clubs on the other nights. In our state, only non-profit organizations could legally work the bingo, and all the workers had to be bona fide members of the organization. I wasn’t in the inner circles, but I never heard even a suspicion of anything not being on the up-and-up.

The customers were the general public, and they were generally pretty nice people. My mom was a bingo player at similar venues in her town. Just regular folks out for a night of low-key fun, and the chance to occasionally win a few bucks.

On our night, we arranged for a caller (usually from another club) and our members sold the bingo cards, sold the pull-tabs, and verified the bingos with the caller. Our club members were all adults, but I didn’t see anything inappropriate for a 12 year old. As long as there are some parents there, and it’s not a school night, it could well be an acceptable activity. This is assuming, of course, you don’t disapprove of this type of gambling (it is different from what’s in casinos).

I would suggest you attend the bingo games one night and get a feel for the operation. It’s not very expensive, and heck–you might have fun!

15

Sounds like a better way to do things, I wish they had run things that way in Texas. I think going down there and getting the feel for the place is probably the best idea.

16

Getcha pull tabs here, getcha pull tabs here! Say, howdy cowboy, innarested in a few pull tabs?

Sorry Miss I don’t play those games.

Oh, come on cowboy, one little game can’t hurt-

No miss, I mean it.

So what ARE ya here for tall, dark and just-my-type?

I’m looking for my girl. She sent me a wire telling me she was working here. Selling - well, selling pull-tabs .

Oh you mean Miss Fresh-off-the-farm? Shirley something.

That’s it, Sheila. Do you know her, Miss?

Yeah she’s here all right. The Boss put her in the back room. That’s the high-rollers room. They like 'em young there.

Hey Feefee - stop jawing and get back to work!

Aww shaddup, you big galoot! I’m workin’, I’m workin’. Hey cowboy - you seem like a nice guy. Why don’t you forget about her. She’s no good for a guy like you. Here, have a pull tab on me.

No, I came to get her, and take her home and marry her.

Well I’ll be…-

Now where’s this back room you were talking about?

Through that arch, and past those bead curtains. Hey cowboy!

What, Miss?

(quietly) She’s a lucky girl.

Pulltabs, getcha pulltabs here! Puull-taabs!
Scene from “Bingo Hall Girl” quoted courtesy of Republic Films.
Redboss B. De Mille

17

Great director and (yet again) thread killer. Oh well…

(thrusts hands into pocket of trenchcoat and walks away, all alone down deserted rain-washed street, as camera pulls back, music swells and we fade to black)

18

Well, thanks for the feedback everybody (and thanks for the Movie-A-Minute, Redboss :smiley: ) I guess there’s no substitute for Mom actually going down there to see whassup, but since the kid isn’t actually in the group yet (we won’t know for a while) it may turn out to be a non-issue.