About Me

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dover foxcroft, maine
married mother of five in total three mine and two my husband's children two part time jobs full time student and just loving life. active in my church and member of my local American legion

Friday, December 9, 2011

Fourteen and how to research a thing like a mini search topic paper thing

  A mini isearch. I could talk about nutrition, the thing I want to do with my life. Thought about Economics, as I am worrying about the food heat gas for the car issues that are prevailing on my wallet right now. Possibilities there but it was such a large topic. Breaking it down into sections did not help either because Microeconomics and Macroeconomics were still to large a topic for me to write an itty-bitty essay about. Bingo, which is one of my favorite games. Ask anyone who had won our four hundred dollar jackpot how excited they were about it, you would probably get a list of why they loved Bingo. I have played the game for years. I volunteer there quite regularly when I am not in school trying to drill knowledge into my brain and  not have it leak out.
    I started with Bingo, (the adult version) in spring of 2006. I volunteered there for many years first as a runner and then as a relief banker adding selling of the special games and fifty/fifty tickets. I was then tapped to be the caller. It is not often that you see women callers and that is for a very definite reason, no one likes to see grown ups cry. Most women do after the crowd gets through with them for making a mistake, whatever the mistake would be. I have literally seen some of the men vow never to come back to the hall after such troubles. I thought they were being a bit overly dramatic but they seemed to think being yelled at for calling the wrong number was a bit out of line. I was the banker for many years and even balanced out the monthly checkbooks and sent of the proper monthly paperwork to the state police gaming commission who is the duly authorized agent for the State to handle such things as Bingo and pull tickets or Lucky Sevens as they are officially known as and high stakes bingo.
    As I continue in my thoughts of Bingo, I realized that although I know the people and the operation there at my Legion hall, I know most of the rules that apply to the small stakes bingo games, I really have no idea about what is going on in High Stakes bingo nor do I know anything about the rest of the games of chance or anything about how bingo came to be such an unusual American pastime.
    The History of Bingo started out in Europe, specifically Italy, as more of a Lottery, (http://www.strangelife.com/bingodoc/bingohist.html) than the Bingo that we play today. I would have thought the way the Indians felt about it, that it was something to do with them, but no it is one of the few European things that the Indians took to. Indians refer to high stakes Bingo as the, "new buffalo" because it is a single source capable of feeding and clothing the Indians, much like the buffalo used to. (http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/97/03/Chapt4.html)
      In short, Bingo has been around in its earliest forms since 1530 when it was invented as a state run lottery by the Italians and through various changes has come to be the modern game of Bingo. In the early 1930's. High stakes bingo started in Florida by the Indians and after fighting with the State of Florida about minor legalities, which the Indians won, the games were allowed to be conducted on tribal lands without state interference. Several states have since followed suit allowing their local state tribes to conduct the high stakes on tribal lands  (http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/97/03/Chapt4.html)
     Although it is technically a form of gambling, I personally do not equate it with other games of chance. I equate it with any other sporting endeavor. there is strategies that can be applied. Sometimes they are superstition other times they can be as simple as not sitting next to the woman that talks constantly through the whole night and distracts everyone around her. Good for her because you are going to miss a number sooner or later. There is also the fact that you have to develop the skill to search out the number you want in a set amount of time the more cards you can scan in the allotted time limit then the more chances to win you are capable of. I know some ladies and gentlemen that can play up to 30 cards at any given time sometimes more if they feel like it.
     Bingo is a very sociable game. You are sitting next to a group of your friends and between games there is a lot of joking around a laughing going on. You are not just there to gamble.  I look at it like any other athletic event, you pay your entrance fee, hone your skills to beat your opponent, and use whatever strategy you can think of to give you an edge over the other guys. There is an element of skill as well luck that goes into playing these games. As a runner in a race can stumble and fall you can miss that all important number, or have to go to the bathroom, or even stamp the wrong number accidentally.
     We have several of what I call God's Special People, playing the games on a quasi regular basis. Our Legion Hall is very protective of them, recognizing that it is a beneficial chance for them to get out and socialize and be around society in an accepting setting. We do not allow them to play more than one card unless we know they can handle more than one card. (http://www.ncrta.org/Professional/benefits.htm
 

3 comments:

  1. Very interesting piece to me because it covers a topic I know nothing about but don't dismiss automatically (when students write about videogames, I dismiss the topic in the sense that I can't pretend any interest at all; ditto writing about some music group; ditto writing about vampires.

    But this is a piece of Maine I recognize, just have never experienced, so it was all new.

    In a perfect world--one without algebra tests, that is--this would be the week's work to revise because it contains within it all your strengths but some of your weaknesses.

    It is personal, detailed, visual, lively, wry, funny, insightful--strengths.

    It starts slowly, wanders a little before it gets its feet under it--weakness. You weren't able to find a good ending (the material in the last graf is fine, but it isn't a close)--weakness.

    So, that's my take.

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    Replies
    1. You are correct, although I like to think I usually close better than this

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  2. whenyour players go to the restroom, the workers can watch there cards per state of maine

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