Game of chance played with cards having a grid of numbered squares corresponding to numbered balls drawn at random. When a number on the card is drawn, the players cover that number (should they have it); the game is won by covering a certain number of squares in a row (vertically, horizontally, or diagonally). Cards are purchased and proceeds are placed into a common “pot”; winning cards are awarded a portion of the pot. Wildly popular in the mid 20th century, bingo has in recent decades suffered a decline in America but has increased in popularity in other parts of the world. The earliest name for bingo—lotto—was recorded in Britain in 1776; the game is sometimes called keno in the U.S.
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(born Nov. 11, 1896, Lercara Friddi, Sicily, Italy—died Jan. 26, 1962, Capodicino Airport, Naples) Italian-born U.S. gangster. He immigrated with his family to New York in 1906 and soon was involved in crime. In 1916 he conspired with Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky, and other young gangsters, earning the nickname “Lucky” by evading arrest and winning at craps. He joined the crime gang of Joe Masseria in 1920 and was soon directing Masseria's bootlegging, narcotics, and prostitution rackets. In 1931 he had both Masseria and rival boss Salvatore Maranzano murdered; by 1934 he was “boss of all bosses” in a national crime syndicate. Jailed for extortion in 1936, he continued to direct criminal operations from his prison cell. In 1946 his sentence was commuted, and he was deported to Italy, where he directed drug traffic and the smuggling of aliens into the U.S.
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