ROSSVILLE, Ga. (AP)-Most nights a hushed crowd of at least 50 sits at lunchroom tables in this border town's bingo parlor, scratching off squares with oversized markers.

Many of the regulars make the short trek from Tennessee, where bingo was banned in 1989, for the chance to win as much as $1,500. And, some add, the possibility to do some good.

The proceeds from the games go to three Chattanooga, Tenn., nonprofits, each of whom spend most of the money a few feet north across the Tennessee border.

But the bingo nights could be numbered if a proposal in the Georgia Legislature gets called for a vote.

A Senate proposal, which passed by a 44-1 vote with the blessing of northwest Georgia lawmakers, requires that bingo game operators spend their proceeds within the state, effectively shutting down the Rossville games. The House could consider the proposal in the coming week.

"This isn't right that a bingo company from another state can come in here and take money from Georgia and give the vast majority to Tennessee," said state Sen. Jeff Mullis, a Republican from Chickamauga, only a few miles south of Rossville and the border.

He and other sponsors argue that the parlor takes away business from other local bingo games, like those run by veterans groups at the nearby American Legion Post.

Larry Hester, commander of the post, says his games' revenues are down about $40,000 since the Chattanooga groups came to town.

All around town, he's been trumpeting this message to his new rivals: "Go back to Tennessee."

"If a charity here in Georgia wants to set up shop and do bingo, that's fine. But I don't think a charity out of Tennessee should come here," he said. "If they want bingo, why don't they try and get it back."

Bingo is a sore spot in Tennessee. In the late 1980s, a Tennessee police sting dubbed "Operation Rocky Top" uncovered a ring of third-party bingo operators using state charters for legit charities to run gambling parlors. The state responded by outlawing bingo and only recently loosened the law to allow charity raffles and other gambling fundraisers. But bingo and casino games are still illegal.

Just as Georgia residents flock over the border to buy those fireworks not legal in their home state, droves of Tennessee residents drive the other way for the chance to play bingo.

And Hester says many are drawn to the prime location of the Chattanooga coalition's game-a brick building mere blocks from the border-rather than the legion hall three miles to the south.

The Chattanooga non-profits, two firefighter groups and a boy's home, argue that it shouldn't matter where the money is spent as long as it's going to needy causes.

"We're all just doing the best we can, trying to help the families that need it," said Capt. Ron Boyd, who organizes games for the Chattanooga Firefighters Association.

His group has made roughly $10,000 since it began running the game last August. Most of the proceeds go to causes across the state line, but about 25% is spent on Georgia charities. The group says it gave $1,500 to a local middle school and another $1,000 to Rossville's library.

"We're not in it to get rich," said Mike Baronavski, the group's former president. "If we could make a dollar, we're happy. That's one more dollar for charity."

Lynn Byrd makes no bones about it: 100% of the $10,000 he's made is spent in Tennessee on the New Life Home for Boys, which helps rehabilitate and educate troubled youth.

"The lawmakers are doing what they had to do-taking care of their constituents," said Byrd, the home's director. "But we're bringing people here, and this town is drying up."

If the legislation passes, the Chattanooga groups vow a court challenge. They've hired an attorney who contends it violates the federal commerce clause.

Baronavski puts it in layman's terms. "Are you telling me if I win the lottery in Georgia, I've got to spend it here?" he asks.

On a recent night, Baronavski, Boyd and other red-clad firefighters volunteer at the parlor, manning the cash register and greeting the 100 or so players.

Some of the regulars seem downright confused by the sudden interest in their bingo parlor. They say there's not much else to do in the tiny town of roughly 3,500, where there's little more than a string of strip malls, gas stations and fast food eateries interrupted by a rustic downtown that straddles the state line.

"When you get older, you can't dance, you can't run," said Betty Owens, an 82- year-old who comes in from Tennessee to play a few times each week. "This is one thing you can still do."

Dee Martin, a 58-year-old retiree, plays three nights a week, bringing his own colorful stamp to blot off each square as they're called. The handful of games he's won keeps him coming back for more- regardless of which charities benefit.

"As long as the money is going for a good thing, I don't know what the big hassle is," he said. "It's just greed. Competition does not hurt anybody."

Source: AP-AP Wire Service