Cudahy : Bingo License Not Renewed; 7-Days-a-Week Play Denied

Despite protests that Cudahy’s bingo ordinance is unconstitutional, the City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to deny renewal of a bingo license held by a Compton businessman who wants to operate games seven days a week in town.

The council said the application of John Mgrdichian failed to meet requirements of the state Penal Code and the city’s bingo ordinance that was passed in June.

Among the requirements set by the ordinance are that bingo games can be held only once a week for no more than eight hours and must be hosted by a nonprofit agency whose board of directors and membership consist of a majority of Cudahy residents.

Mgrdichian, as director of the Social Service Foundation, was granted a license last year under conditions of the old bingo ordinance, which was far less restrictive. Although he has held the license for a year, Mgrdichian has not built the bingo parlor in which he proposed to hold games to benefit nonprofit social service organizations.

In a letter to the council, Mgrdichian’s attorney, Barry A. Fisher, wrote that the changes in the bingo ordinance are unconstitutional and “unfair and discriminatory and appear to be aimed at the foundation, which is the only group in the city that has applied for a multi-night bingo ordinance.”