EUTAW &045;&045; There is no official starting date for bingo in Greene County, Sheriff Johnny Isaac said Monday. GreeneTrack hopes to be ready for bingo gaming on Jan. 5, 2004, he said, but the facility has no gaming license yet.

The sheriff will be in charge of licensing bingo in the county.

Only non-profit organizations will be able to obtain bingo licenses in Greene County, although the sheriff said earlier that the volunteer fire department association was expected to hire GreeneTrack to run its bingo gaming.

GreeneTrack has announced a $5 million renovation to its facility to host bingo. There are no other official requests for licenses by other organizations. "There are people requiring about regulations," he said.

A bingo parlor will have to inspected by Isaac as far as security, insurance and other paperwork before it could open.

The majority (an estimated 92 to 95 percent) of the money raised in bingo gaming will be returned in the form of winnings to the patrons, Isaac said. The rest of the proceeds will be used for administrative costs for the bingo parlor and to paid in a described formula for education and other non-profit agencies in the county.

It has not been decided how much of the proceeds will be allotted for parlor administration, Isaac said.