KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- The folks who play bingo at the Klamath Basin Senior Citizen Center are no longer outlaws.

Five months ago, the Department of Justice contacted officials at the senior center after getting a complaint that bingo games were being played for cash. Nickels, to be exact.

The senior center has a gambling license for the higher-stakes bingo program. But the Golden Age Club, which has about 200 members, is separate from the senior center and has never had a gaming license for its nickel-bingo operation.

The Klamath County Board of Commissioners last week amended the county's social gaming ordinance to include bingo, to the relief of the seniors who learned they've been playing an illegal game for the last two decades.

"Have fun with your bingo without the bureaucracy," Commissioner Bill Brown told an audience of about 20 seniors who came to support changing the rule.

Michigan students paid to keep tidy