Lights Out, Again, at Rincon Indian Bingo

High-stakes bingo at the Rincon Indian Reservation northeast of Escondido again has been discontinued, with the third manager in three years pulling up stakes. The tribe will decide Sunday whether to resume the games under yet another manager.

The latest conflict grew out of a tribal council debate over whether to amend its contract with Larry Parr, an Ohio businessman who took over management of the bingo games last year, according to a tribal council source who asked not to be named because of an agreement among tribal leadership to refrain from public comment.

Confounding the debate over the management contract were allegations that some Indians who opposed Parr’s bingo operations had harassed customers at the door, turning many of them away, the tribe member said.

Max Mazzetti, the tribal chairman, said he would not discuss the matter; Parr could not be reached for comment and his Los Angeles attorney, Jerry Levine, did not return phone calls.

But Richard Sola, an Escondido lawyer who serves as the tribe’s attorney, said, “Bingo will not be operating in the near future. There is a dispute between the tribe and the management company that will not be resolved over the interpretation of the management agreement and compliance with it.”

He said the tribe was considering litigation and would consider reopening the games under new management.

Tribal members were notified this week of a special meeting Sunday to discuss the future of the bingo games.

Indian reservation bingo offers high-stakes payoffs reaching tens of thousands of dollars because it is not governed by state law, which limits charitable bingo games to $250 payoffs. Rincon began offering bingo in 1984 but the operation closed in June, 1985, when Charles Schlegel, the first manager, said he was broke and couldn’t pay the prizes and payroll. Poor cash flow and too much competition from other Indian bingo games were cited as causes.

In May, 1986, Saul Wright took over as bingo manager; he sold out to Parr a few months ago. Tribal sources said Parr paid the Rincon Indians the monthly $6,600 lease for the bingo hall and an additional $1,000 a week in income, but was too encumbered by past debts to make a net profit to share with the Indians.

The last bingo games were played Jan. 25.

The tribal source said the council and Parr had tentatively agreed to a new contract calling for him to pay the tribe $3,300 a week for six months, with the tribe getting no share of any additional net profit. But the two sides deadlocked on other details and, coupled with strong sentiment against Parr on the part of some Indians, he left the area last week.

An adjoining poker casino remains open despite a Bureau of Indian Affairs contention that it is operating illegally because it did not have the federal government’s blessing before it opened. The tribal council source said the tribe has not yet received a court order to close the poker operation, which has been managed by an Indian since its manager walked away a few weeks ago.

With the latest closing of the Rincon bingo hall, the Sycuan Indians east of El Cajon remain the only Indians in San Diego County offering high-stakes bingo.