The 61-year-old, who wants to remain anonymous, is also sticking by an agreement to give half of her winnings to the friend she plays the bingo game with.

The woman won the cash at the Gala Bingo Club in Pier Avenue, Clacton, on Monday.

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She won the national bingo game prize of £39,535, the regional bingo prize of £1,999 and the house bingo prize of £100.

"I'm gobsmacked," said the pensioner. "I don't want to make any rash decisions while I'm still so shocked so I'll wait until I get the cheque before I decide what I'm going to so with the money."

The woman, who is married and has two children and a grandchild, has been playing bingo for 32 years and plays the bingo game at the Clacton club once or twice each week with her friend.

Written by James Dwan

www.gazette-news.co.uk

The House voted 180-18 yesterday for a bill introduced by Rep. Don Walko, D-North Side. It would permit nonprofits and charities like volunteer fire companies and church groups to conduct as many as four bingo events per week, instead of the current limit of two bingo events. The nightly limit on bingo prizes would rise to $10,000 from the current $4,000.

The trend toward lower bingo attendance was first noticed in northeastern Pennsylvania, where the Mohegan Sun casino opened near Wilkes-Barre in November 2006, and where another casino opened in the Poconos last year, Mr. Walko said.

"Bingo attendance fell about 40 percent in some areas, according to testimony we took at a hearing in January," he said. He added that a North Strabane volunteer fire department bingo event has closed, due to many customers going to casinos in West Virginia.

John Elliott, who sits on the Chartiers Township volunteer fire company's bingo committee in Washington County, said his Thursday night bingo has dropped to 85 to 90 players, compared with 130 or more before The Meadows slots casino opened just down the road in June.

He said the money raised at bingo is crucial to the department's operation because it goes for equipment, utilities, building maintenance and cleaning supplies.

The bill still needs Senate approval. Besides increasing the nightly payout and the number of bingo games permitted per week, the bill would:

• Allow charities, for the first time, to hold one progressive bingo jackpot per day, with a payout of no more than $50,000.

• Allow bingo players to use hand-held electronic bingo cards as well as traditional paper bingo cards.

• Remove certain bans on advertising; currently, nonprofits may not advertise their bingo jackpot amounts or the entrance fee to the bingo games, which is usually $15 or $20.

• Allow groups to compensate professional bingo callers who run the bingo games.

Written by Tom Barnes

www.post-gazette.com

The Rank Group, who also operates the Blue Square Betting business and Grosvenor Casinos, have stated that they were encouraged by their performance, in the face of adversity. It has been reported that they told their shareholders, "We have achieved a degree of success in adjusting to the smoking ban and the new bingo gaming regulations and have taken timely action to protect profits. Nevertheless we are conscious that the difficult consumer climate is likely to make 2008 a challenging year for the bingo gaming sector."

We all know that the double taxation law in the UK, coupled with the smoking ban has hit the bingo industry hard. Sectors of the bingo industry have been lobbing the government to try and get the double taxation law changed, but instead of coming to their aid in the recent budget, they gave them a slap in the face once more. Restrictions were also placed on how many bingo gaming machines they were allowed to have on their premises last year, which has just added to this crisis.

The game of bingo has been around for many years and has truly stood the test of time, with millions of people still enjoying the game today, but for how much longer I ask myself? After seeing so many bingo halls close down in the past year and with more reported closures on the way.

Paul Talboys, is the Chief Executive of the Bingo Association, he has a very level head on his shoulders and had this to say about the recent announcement by our Sports Minister: "The bingo industry is encouraged to see that the minister clearly has a genuine interest in the plight of bingo. But the bingo industry is operating under extremely difficult circumstances and the Government's failure to address that double taxation issue in the Budget places great emphasis on any positive statement the minister may make. Any celebration at this time may be premature."

Exactly what the Governments plans to do is still unknown, but it is thought by experts in the bingo industry, that some restrictions may be lifted regarding the £500 gaming machines. We will just have to sit back and wait to see once again, but they really do need to sit up now and take action. I hope this is not a case of giving in one hand and taking back in the other.

Written by Hollie

www.unluckyforsome.co.uk

And don't forget, Wink Bingo runs its famous £10,000 Guaranteed Monthly Bingo Jackpot played every 10th of the month at exactly 10pm.  They were the first to do it, and they're still the best at it.

Rank opened sheltered outdoor bingo gaming areas and installed electronic gear that permits remote play at its bingo halls to counter a fall in sales after England barred indoor smoking in public places in July. The company is vulnerable to prohibitions on tobacco use because about half of bingo players smoke, twice the rate of the general populace, according to executives.

``We have achieved a degree of success in adjusting to the smoking ban and the new bingo gaming regulations and have taken timely action to protect profits,'' Rank said. ``Nevertheless we are conscious that the difficult consumer climate is likely to make 2008 a challenging year for the bingo gaming sector.''

Rank fell 1.25 pence, or 1.3 percent, to 93 pence at 8:02 a.m. in London trading. The stock has gained 1.9 percent this year after dropping 59 percent in 2007, giving the company a market value of 363 million pounds ($712 million).

Government Statement?

The owner of Mecca bingo halls and Grosvenor Casinos had to remove some higher-jackpot electronic gaming bingo machines because of changes to gambling laws. The company also owns Spanish bingo clubs, Belgian casinos and the Blue Square betting Web site.

The government plans to make a statement containing ``good news'' for bingo companies, Investec Securities said May 1. Changes probably will include a relaxation of limits on bingo prize amounts, Investec said. Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe was to make an announcement to Parliament ``shortly,'' a spokeswoman said at the time, without being more specific.

Bingo revenue at sites open at least a year declined 14 percent in the 17 weeks, the same pace as the drop in the eight weeks through Feb. 24, the statement shows. Sales on that basis at casinos fell 8 percent.

Profit doubled to 311.5 million pounds in Rank's last fiscal year on a gain from selling the Hard Rock restaurant, hotel and casino unit. The disposal capped asset sales that sharpened the company's focus on gaming.

Written by Louisa Nesbitt and Loveday Morris

www.bloomberg.com

Playing Bingo Online
Online bingo sites use a random number generator which 'calls out' the numbers in quick succession. Bingo players keep pace by crossing out the numbers on their bingo cards. One of the patterns in bingo is called blackout or coverall. All it means is that players have to cover the whole card in order to win the bingo game. Since Bingo is an inherently social pursuit, a chat feature is offered by most of the bingo sites enabling players to make new friends. They are also able to pick up new tips for enhancing their game and to improve the odds of winning, or they can simply engage in casual chit chat to pass the time. Some of the more talented bingo chat room hosts are artful in fostering a sense of community and interaction amongst chat room members.

90 Ball Bingo
90 ball bingo is fast emerging as the most popular version of the bingo game, as opposed to the 75 ball variant that was previously in vogue. The bingo cards are somewhat different in the 75 ball game when compared with 90 ball bingo. In the 90 ball game, the numbers on the bingo cards are arranged in three rows with each row having 5 numbered squares. Numbers range from 1 to 90. The remaining squares are blank and there is no free square. In the 75 ball game, the grid is composed of 5×5 squares, all of which are numbered save the one at the centre.

Different Bingo Patterns
There are hundreds of different patterns being played out in bingo games in the different sites! One of the major advantages of using internet technology is that the costs and overheads involved in printing bingo cards are absent. This frees the site providers to be as creative as they wish and has resulted in some innovative patterns.

The Blackout or Cover-All Jackpot Game
The Coverall game requires bingo players to cross out every single number on the bingo card. There's a fixed payout for the prize winner, that generally decreases after the 48th number is called.

Static Patterns
The static pattern is the most common of all bingo patterns: these cannot be rotated or shifted on the Bingo card. Players get to win only when every cell that is highlighted in the game pattern image is marked on their Bingo card.

Crazy or Dynamic Patterns
Games where the pattern is permitted to be rotated in 90 degree increments are designated as 'Crazy' games. Unlike static patterns that do not allow the pattern to be shifted or rotated, Crazy games can be rotated by 90º, 180º or 270º for a winning pattern match. These can prove to be very interesting indeed yet can be more than a little confusing to the uninitiated. However, there's no need to worry: everyone can participate because most of the bingo sites have an 'auto daub' system that takes care of bingo card marking (as well as calling out 'bingo' when a bingo player has won). Some static patterns also have a 'Crazy' variation.

Conclusion
Coverall games may potentially carry big bingo prizes with the coverall jackpots being even more attractive. Bingo is of course a form of gambling and should be treated as such: set yourself strict limits and stick to them. That said, a coverall 90 ball bingo game or even a jackpot game offers the excitement of a potentially large prize. A progressive jackpot is perhaps the most exciting of them all as the prize money increases every day or every week until it is won. Accepting that this is a game of chance and that winning is a bonus (albeit a nice one!), whiling away a few hours and chatting to fellow bingo players in a well moderated chat room can prove to be a pleasant experience.

Written by Jason Tynan

www.bet123.net

But just as they were finishing their last bingo game, two masked men burst through the front doors, struck a 78-year-old security guard to the floor, held a handful of bingo gamers at gunpoint before fleeing with thousands in cash.

Belinda Frangoulis, 58, said she was saying her goodbyes to the bingo hall's guard, Bill Vogel, at about 1:20 a.m. when the gunmen approached.

"They were dressed in all black, like ninjas," Frangoulis said. "Just their eyes were showing. One dragged me back inside the bingo hall, and I was screaming at the top of my lungs. And the other one dragged Bill in and pushed him to the floor and held the gun to his head."

According to Lee County sheriff's Deputy Richard Russo, another bingo patron, Diane Carroll, 60, was seated at a bingo table nearby. One of the suspects grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the floor, gun in hand, saying, "I told you to get down!"

They then made their way to the office, where manager Anna Wunder, 61, had fled for cover.

"Anna stated that one suspect came into the office by breaking down the door, and pointed a gun at her and threw the phone across the office," Russo reported.  Anna stated that she broke free, then (the robber) ran out of the office yelling, 'Take all the money!'"

She was able to run out the back door to a nearby automated laundry and called 911.

But the gunmen didn't stay much longer. It is believed they got away with $10,000 to $20,000 in bingo cash.

A third patron, Susan Morvan, also 60, kept quiet and hoped it would all be OK. She was not harmed.

"I thought they were going to kill us," Morvan said. "It all happened so fast, and I was just sort of in shock. I thought I was OK, but then when I was driving home, I was getting really nervous. Then I couldn't sleep that night or the night after."

Morvan works at a Naples bingo hall, and said the whole experience was unsettling.

Management at Pondella Bingo, located at 959 Pondella Road, declined to comment.

Written by Rachel Myers

www.news-press.com

A Madison County circuit court judge has denied and dismissed a complaint filed by the Town of Triana seeking validity of its bingo ordinance and protection from raids by Sheriff Blake Dorning on bingo establishments in the town limits.

Triana officials requested a judge in March to declare they have a right under the state constitution to permit bingo for charity without interference from Dorning.

The complaint stemmed from the seizure of hundreds of bingo machines that were operating inside the town limits. In court papers, the county maintained the sheriff has the authority to act anywhere in the county when he believes a state law is being violated.

Circuit Judge Laura W. Hamilton ruled April 30 that no actual controversy exists between Triana and Dorning. The sheriff did not challenge the town's right to create its bingo ordinance, she said. If Triana had challenged the constitutionality of the state's bingo laws, the laws under which Dorning was operating, an arguable actual controversy would have existed, she ruled.

"None of the cases cited involved an action filed by a municipality against a state agency or entity seeking to determine if its local bingo ordinance superseded the state law," she wrote. "Rather, in each of those cases, a resident of the municipality filed an action specifically challenging the validity of the municipal law. Such is not the case here."

Hamilton dismissed the complaint without prejudice, which means Triana will be able to sue the county again on the issues in state court.

Written by David Holden

www.al.com

The Frank/Paul bill seeks to stop implementation of the notorious UIGEA which saw many non-US gaming companies, including bingo, forced out of the US market.  The progress being made by the new bill signals a promising turn of events for online bingo games operators and online bingo halls hoping for a return to the lucrative US online gaming market.   

Frank and Paul put the new bill before Congress after a hearing by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology that demonstrated the pitfalls and problems with implementing UIGEA.

Lil Rose, who is in charge of financial resources at the Acadia Community Association, said attendance for the bingo games they host at the city's bingo halls has dropped significantly since Jan 1.

Last year, the community association was raking in almost $5,000 a month through bingos across the city. That figure has now dropped to about $3,400, said Rose.

Yet bingo attendance has remained steady at the West Hillhurst Community Association, said executive-director Rod Popowich.

"I think bingo players are coming to terms with the fact that there is no smoking," said Popowich. "We're ... the same as we were a year ago."

At Jackpot Junction, bingo attendance has dipped about 10%, said manager Chris Sheridan.

Bingo!

For almost 80 years, the game of chance has been filling American Legion bingo halls, church basements and carnival tents. Now, a musical version is filling theaters, too.

And what better place for the Michigan debut of "Bingo, the Musical" than Grand Rapids, which was dubbed the Bingo Capital of the U.S.A. by BingoLingo.com earlier this year.

According to the Web site's unscientific study, Grand Rapids has more bingo halls and bingo games per capita than any other metropolitan area.

But it's the show's hilarious cast of characters -- not bingo's local popularity-- that led Circle Theatre to schedule "Bingo, the Musical" as its season opener.

"It has very silly characters and ridiculous situations," director Todd Avery said. "I don't know if you're going to walk away learning anything about bingo, but it's a real gut-buster."

Avery discovered the bingo show last year in Chicago's Apollo Theatre, where his sister-in-law, professional actress Cheryl Avery, played the leading role of Vern.

The musical got its start in 2000 when playwrights Michael Heitzman and Ilene Reid were in Denver workshopping another play, "Vices." Someone suggested taking a break at a local bingo hall.

"I won $200 -- not that it swayed me or anything," Reid said recently in a phone interview from New York. "It was the bingo culture that got me. Here were these lovable and zany characters, so driven that they wouldn't talk to you while a bingo game was being called."

Reid said she sat next to a woman who spent 30 minutes setting up her display of lucky charms.

On the plane home from Denver, Reid and Heitzman began outlining the bingo story. The final piece fell into place when they invited their friend David Holcenberg to write music and lyrics. He had been on tour as musical director of "Phantom of the Opera," and at each tour stop, he said, the cast would look for the local bingo hall.

"We discovered he's a bingo groupie," Reid said.

Holcenberg -- who also directed "Mamma Mia!"-- gets the credit for adding much of the authentic bingo lingo to the show, such as players singing "I am 16, going on 17" for the call of I-16 or responding to a call of B-12 with "Give me a shot of B-12." Bingo fans who saw the show in California also stayed afterward to help the writers correct any bingo faux pas, Reid said.

The story centers on three bingo-obsessed friends, played by Lisa Whitley-Butler, Noddea Moore and Aubry Talbott, who brave a storm to get to their bingo game.

Others in the cast include Kyle Burton Black as the handsome caller, Ruth Anne Molenaar as the bingo hall's proprietor and Christine Amon and Colleen Weibel as other bingo players.

The score features such songs as "Girls Night Out," "Anyone Can Play Bingo," "Gentleman Caller" and "B4."

"When you're as passionate about something as these bingo players are, it's just a natural progression to start singing about it," Reid said.

The object of the bingo show is to pay homage to the bingo culture, rather than poke fun, Reid said. Her research uncovered a study of people's heart rates in various extreme situations. The highest jolt, according to the study, was when a bingo player was one number away in bingo, Reid said.

"No matter how jaded you are, when you're close to winning, it's a high."

Audience gets involved

Here's how watching "Bingo, The Musical" at Circle Theatre works:

Every person gets a bingo card and plays along on three bingo games for cash prizes during the production. Circle Theatre's set will include a lighted bingo board, purchased on eBay, and a lighted bingo card on the stage floor to teach newbies various pattern games, such as arrow and diamond.

Written by Sue Merrell

www.mlive.com

They helped run a non-profit bingo for the Women's Auxiliary of a Covington VFW post.

The current president of the post's Women's Auxiliary pulled the plug on the bingo and says more than $170,000 is missing.

Current says she's been waiting three years to tell what she calls a sad story of greed. It's simple, she's the current president of the Women's Auxiliary at the VFW Montague post in Covington. Three years ago the group began hosting bingo to raise money for sick veterans.

No one could believe the amount of money that starting flowing in by bingo games.

"The ladies seemed to be making money. At the meetings it would be something about 43, 54 thousand, and we're going, 'Wow, this is just great!'"

Current says those staggering profits would be counted in a back room at Pike Place Bingo. And when $54,000 in the group's bingo fund suddenly dropped to $20,000, members started asking questions and monthly meetings went from bingo fun to tense.

Two former auxiliary bingo members, Anna Ruff and Deborah Bartlett , Anna Ruff's brother, Billy "Butch" Daniels, along with former VFW member in charge of book keeping, Jeffery Franklin, are now under indictment for allegedly pocketing bingo profits.

More than $170,000 is missing from just one year of bingo,Current says investigators are just now looking for missing money from year's two and three.

"It's sad! When you got people out there dying and you've got these men coming over here that you can really treat well and take care of their families for them, with a $170,000 what do you think we could have done?"

Local 12 was still trying Friday night to get in touch with the four people charged for their side of the story.

Meantime, the Kenton Commonwealth's Attorney's Office says no one at the VFW or with Pike Place Bingo have done anything wrong.

www.local12.com