Bingo Is the Best Revenge

In Hollywood, Fla., just north of Miami, 1,200 people crowd each evening into a fancy, $900,000 bingo hall. Its owners pamper the players with valet parking, waitresses and armed escorts to their cars after the games. Small wonder: the nightly super jackpot can run as high as $19,000. Top prizes at other Florida bingo games are limited by law to $100.

The Hollywood bingo emporium is the latest revenge of Florida's Seminoles on the whites, who drove the Indians' ancestors into the Everglades in the early 19th century. Until recently, the 397 Seminoles on the 480-acre Hollywood reservation survived by raising cattle, making dolls and baskets, and wrestling alligators to entertain tourists.

Then the Indians learned that court rulings over the years exempted them from many state civil laws. In 1976 the Seminoles began selling tax-free cigarettes, which now net the tribe about $1.6 million a year. Last fall the Indians went into partnership with non-Seminole Eugene ("Butch") Weisman and opened the bingo emporium. It was an instant success. Chartered buses bring players from as far away as Tampa. Nearby condominiums often reserve tables. The average player spends about $35 a night, which makes the profits considerable. Weisman, who manages the operation, gets 45% of the earnings; the rest goes to the tribe. Seminole Chief James E. Billie expects the Indians' share to total $1.5 million from bingo this year. The tribe has earmarked its bingo earnings to build two gymnasiums, a swimming pool and a center for senior citizens and children.

Profits should grow. Starting this week, there will be afternoon as well as evening games. Says Chief Billie: "Indians have historically been able to adapt to their environment. Generating money is now the name of the game."

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