Along with the sound of whirring slot machines and cascading jackpots, visitors to the Divi Carina Bay Casino on St. Croix may soon hear shouts of "bingo."
On Tuesday, the Casino Control Commission adopted proposed rules and regulations for bingo games at the Divi casino. The rules and regulations will be sent to the V.I. Attorney General's Office for legal review and then on to the governor for his signature.
Anton Kuipers, casino table games manager, said the bingo games will be hand-held electronic units able to display multiple games, not the traditional paper sheets and daubers.
"It is bingo in the traditional sense, but enhanced for the players," Kuipers said. "But it allows players to spend more time playing a game."
Divi plans to have bingo players test their luck in a 240-seat room on the casino's ground level. Games would be played on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 to 4 p.m.
The equipment is scheduled to arrive on St. Croix at the beginning of December, Kuipers said, and "we are hoping to have bingo up and running by Dec. 17."
In June of 2000, the Senate overrode Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's veto of legislation to have the Casino Control Commission regulate bingo in the territory. The measure also permits organizations to operate bingo games as fund-raising efforts.
