PITTSBURGH -- A recent Carnegie Mellon University study says that when the Majestic Star Casino opens on Pittsburgh's North Shore, charity bingo will suffer, and it might end up costing you money whether you gamble or not.

"Once you have a casino in an area, people go to the casino instead of bingo," said Robert Strauss of CMU.

Strauss said that will create a loss of revenue for volunteer fire departments that are supported by charity bingo games.

Ultimately, according to the study, that could lead to taxpayers spending more for emergency services.

"If municipalities want to continue maintaining the VFDs at the service level that they are at now, there is a good potential that they will have to increase the millage rate," said David Ledet of CMU.

During a four-month period, Ledet, Strauss and other CMU students surveyed local bingo players about their habits.

They found that a typical player spends an average of more than $90 a night at bingo, and the average player plays more than 60 times per year.

A good portion of that money will follow the players to the casino when it opens, they believe.

In Erie, 18 of 20 fire hall bingo games closed their doors when the Mohegan Sun Casino opened its doors.

Using one local fire hall as an example, the CMU study shows that if that fire hall loses just 10 percent of its bingo revenue, millage would have to be increased by 9.9 percent to maintain the services.

But the study figures most bingo halls will lose about 50 percent.

The CMU students will continue their research throughout the summer, hoping to compile more data and potential solutions to the problem.

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