Tom Moran and Tom Sewell Fantasy by the Sea Peace Press: Culver City, CA, 1980 (1979) (Originally published by Beyond Baroque Foundation with a grant from the Visual Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts), 1930s
Bingo
"The Depression hit Venice hard. Despite the economic cushion provided by the petroleum drilling, the merchants fell on difficult times. The amusement business dropped off sharply.
"People with no spendable income had little need for the Dragon Slide or roller coasters of Venice The carpeting of the Ship's Cafe was worn and no music was played on its bandstand. The Ocean Front Walk seemed empty.
"One amusement continued to prosper. A few small bingo-type games existed along the beachfront. Bingo was illegal in Los Angeles but the games used variations where customers theoretically used "skill" to determine what numbers were selected. Balls rolled down inclines, marbles tossed into grids or darts thrown against a board decided the numbers called. The cards cost anywhere from a nickel to a quarter and offered a chance at prizes from 41.50 to $50.00. It was an affordable risk in Depression times and the games proved popular.
"John Harrah, a successful lawyer and former Venice mayor, had substantial property holdings in Venice. The Depression had collapsed Harrah's pyramid of trust-deed and mortgage investments and he was forced to search for some profitable use for the beachfront space that was draining his financial reserves.
"He and his son William opened a 30-seat bingo parlor called the Circle Game on July 4, 1932. The family-operated venture was immediately successful. They had discovered that by operating wihout "shills" and during the dinner hour when such games usually closed profits steadily increased. The Harrahs added two more parlors that attracted players from throughout Southern California.
"There were a number of other bingo operations in Venice under various ownerships and proprietors which had survived until 1934, when police and county sheriffs began to close them down. The elder Harrah's legal and political ties helped to keep the Circle Game doors open as a "game of skill" for nearly half a year after his competitors were forced to close up.
"The legality of the bingo games were constantly challenged in court and the game operators nimbly developed new versions of the rules and skills to counter the authorities' attempts to close them. There were frequent raids and closures in 1935 and 1936.
"Bill Harrah, who had bought out his father's interest in one of the games, tired of the constant headaches and uncertainties of operating in Venice. He opened a bingo game in Reno, Nevada, in 1937 which was to grow into the Harrah gaming empire of Lake Tahoe and Reno.
"The other Venice bingos stagggered on, with names such as Tango and Bridgo, until the 1940s when the final courtroom test closed the "games of skill" for good."