Seventeen gambling-related bills were floated this year — unsuccessfully — with most aimed at providing Hawaii some financial relief from costs piling up around the state.

Hawaii and Utah are much touted as the only states remaining in the nation with no form of legalized gambling.

But that’s not exactly true, and one form of gaming that’s thrived here for decades is being held up by some as an example of how gambling can and does work in Hawaii.

Military base bingo is offered every day of the week. It’s open to the public with a "guest card," sponsor or advance registration, and nightly cash prizes can climb into the thousands of dollars.

In June, a "powerball" win of $14,280 was split by four players, the Navy said.

On a recent Wednesday, Joan Miller, a 68-year-old from Ewa playing bingo with about 110 others that night, won $317 in one game and $175 in another at the Hickam Officers’ Club.

The Army said so far this fiscal year, a dinner bingo program on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday has been responsible for the majority of $1.5 million in sales.

Because the games are held on military bases, shouts of "Bingo!" — and the money spent and collected in the process — haven’t been much noticed beyond the front gate in the larger community.

But that track record is being touted by at least one lawmaker — and many bingo players — as evidence that one form of gambling already has worked in Hawaii.

"I find it — I don’t want to use the word hypocritical — but I will say I find it so ironic that those who are pounding the drum the hardest about saying, ‘Hey, we cannot have gaming, if gaming is here, it will spread like a contagion,’ and meanwhile, a block away, on the military base, it’s bingo night," said state Rep. Angus McKelvey.

The Maui Democrat, who proposed online and in-person poker gambling this year, added that military bingo is "prima facie evidence of the fact that it (some gambling) can work.

"It works perfectly for them," he said. "It provides entertainment, and they (the military) make revenue."

How perfectly military bingo works in Hawaii is hard to ascertain.

For starters, whether the federal government has to follow Hawaii state law regarding gambling on its military bases is a gray area, officials said.

Military concern over the legality of bingo led to a meeting in 2000 of the U.S. attorney’s office, Honolulu Police Department, city prosecutor’s office and military judge advocates — and the continuance of military bingo.

HPD addresses bingo on its website.

"Is bingo legal in Hawaii?" a question on the HPD site asks.

"No. Bingo games are a form of gaming that is illegal in Hawaii," is the answer provided. Illegal gambling occurs when an item of value is wagered, there is an element of chance involved, and there is a reward for a win, according to HPD.

"Bingo is illegal in Hawaii because it meets these criteria," HPD said.

The police department said one way the military avoids that criteria is by having a "no purchase necessary to win" component — much like McDonald’s with its Monopoly game contest.

A bingo sheet, with multiple sets of numbers on it playable in one game, is provided free if requested, both the Navy and Army said.

Most players, however, buy a buffet dinner for about $21 and are given 10 sheets. Additional sheets are often purchased, and electronic machines that do the counting for a bingo player can be loaded up with exponentially more sheets that can cost hundreds more, players say.

NAVY REGION HAWAII, which oversees bingo at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, initially told the Star-Advertiser it could not observe or photograph bingo games "due to privacy concerns."

The Navy subsequently allowed the visit, but said a higher command in Washington, D.C., the Naval Installations Command, would have to review emailed questions about the program.

In addition to bingo, Texas Hold ’em, a poker game, also is offered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and by the Army. The bingo programs are run by and benefit service member Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs.

Navy Region Hawaii said in a statement that its bingo is not gambling.

"MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) does not sponsor or host gambling events," the command said. "MWR does not charge entry fees or sponsor pay-to-play games of chance. Games Night games such as bingo or Texas Hold ’em are available for recreation and entertainment only and are in full compliance with the laws of the state of Hawaii."

Although the Army cited food sales revenues this fiscal year of $1.5 million, and said the majority of that came from dinner bingo, the Navy said it had "no way of breaking down gross income" for the games it offers, including bingo.

Almost all of the approximately 110 bingo players at the Hickam Officers’ Club on the Wednesday the Star-Advertiser visited were over 50, and there was a 5-to-1 ratio of women to men.

Alcoholic drinks were served, and there was not even a murmur when numbers were called on the club lanai as ceiling fans did a poor job of circulating air on a muggy night. A loud sneeze drew a resounding "Ssshhh!" from the crowd.

Antoinette Fritz, a 65-year-old Waimanalo resident who was born and raised in Hawaii, said she’s been playing bingo on military bases for about 30 years. There used to be games in Hickam hangars and at Tripler Army Medical Center, she recalled.

Fritz, who is widowed, plays bingo on Monday and Wednesday at Hickam. On Wednesday she purchased the $21 buffet and received 10 sheets, and spent $48 for eight more sheets.

"It keeps us out of trouble," Fritz said. "I mean, what else can we do, really? The widows have to keep up with something."

About eight years ago, she won $3,500, she said.

Fritz said she’s in favor of legalized gambling and a casino in Hawaii.

"I think it would help us. We have enough money problems," she said.

Gary Sutton, 63, and his wife, Evangeline, said they usually play bingo once a week.

Their participation is mostly about getting out of the house, he said.

"You get to know different people from different walks of life, and it’s the camaraderie of it," he said. "Of course, we want to win money, but it can be costly. That’s why we only do it once a week."

The couple spent about $42 for the buffet and bought another $24 worth of cards. Their bill came to $65.90.

While $6 per extra sheet would seem to be pay-to-play, the Navy assigns points with every sheet that can be applied to food purchases.

Bernie Horde, a 65-year-old Moanalua resident, said she is in favor of statewide bingo and a lottery.

"They (opponents) make it, ‘Don’t bring it here, because it’s going to hurt people,’" she said. "People are already hurting whether they bring it here or not."

With the lottery, "everyone has a chance," she added. "A dollar can win you more than anything else, and bingo is not going to break your pocketbook."

A man who didn’t want to be identified, however, said, "Don’t let nobody fool you that it (bingo) won’t break your pocketbook."

The self-professed "bingo addict" said he spends $30,000 a year playing bingo in Hawaii. Electronic machines that can be rented, loaded up with multiple "books" of cards, and score the cards automatically, can add significantly to the cost, players said.

"I’m telling you, this game can eat you up," the man said.

VIOLET HORVATH, first vice president of the Hawaii Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, said she couldn’t comment on the military bingo program before discussing it with other coalition members, but she knows about bingo.

"My mother was a pathological gambler and that was one of her big things — playing bingo," Horvath said.

Horvath said she understands that many of the over-50 crowd at the Hickam Officers’ Club like bingo and act responsibly, "but then there’s the other auntie or tutu who has spent her entire savings, her entire retirement, gambling it away. It could be bingo, it could be other things."

Although players talked about buying the dinner buffet to play bingo, as well as renting machines and buying cards for those as well as extra paper cards through snack purchases, the Navy said "since there is no ‘pay to play,’ it is not possible for patrons to spend too much money."

A 2010 report by Georgia State University found the rate of problem gambling is higher among military personnel than the general population. The Army was asked if it had seen problem bingo gambling at its games.

"There are no gambling programs within (the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation) to be able to comment on any type of problem," the Army said.

THE 17 GAMBLING-RELATED bills introduced last legislative session ranged from a single license for bingo on Hawaiian Home Lands, to slot machines, a multistate lottery and a standalone casino in Waikiki.

State Sen. Clayton Hee said all of the bills remain alive for the next session starting in January because each bill has a two-year life cycle.

Hee offered a bill that called for granting a 10-year license for one standalone casino in Waikiki that would pay the state a 6.75 percent tax on its gross receipts.

Hee called "conservative" one projection that a standalone casino would bring in $150 million up front and $100 million every year thereafter.

Hee (D, Kahuku-Kaneohe) said he had a meeting with Boyd Gaming representatives at their request recently where Boyd said it didn’t want to be "left out" of any potential gaming legislation.

There might be a number of casino companies interested in a Hawaii license, particularly with travel markets opening for Korean and Chinese visitors to Hawaii, Hee said.

"I would suggest that legalized gaming has become more of an alternative to the exponential increases in taxes lately," Hee said.