Dear Aunt Bingo,
When I picked up my April issue and read your column, I was absolutely speechless! How dare anyone suggest that Frustrated in Washington, who was asked not to come back to the Bingo game because other players complained that he/she won too much, make a “donation” to appease a hall manager to get in his good graces and be allowed to play Bingo. Are you crazy? He did make a donation to play when he bought his packs, as many avid Bingo players around the world will tell you.
PJ in Minnesota—who was the reader who made the donation suggestion—you know as well as I do that it only takes one card to win. If it is your turn, then it’s your turn. I have been in his shoes, so to speak. I have had my share of lucky streaks, and as Veteran, the other letter-writer, stated, it does not last. You should not have to make a “bribe” to play Bingo anywhere…that could actually constitute fraud: like the old “house players” back in the day.
Frustrated, I would seek a new, more welcoming Bingo hall. I would also report the Bingo hall manager who asked you to leave “due to winning too much” to the proper gaming commission in your state. Who knows? Maybe the one with something to hide here was the hall manager? Would it really be a stretch of the imagination to suspect that the “group” he was trying to appease was his friends or family and giving them a better chance to win?
I play a lot of cards myself, and at times I do win a lot; then there are the times that I play a lot of cards and I don’t win for months. No person should be restricted from playing Bingo because they’re winning. Isn’t that the point? I pay to play—win, lose, or draw. I should not have to worry: “Oh, no, I won more than my fare share; now they will ban me!”
And just in case the Bingo players who asked to have Frustrated banned from the Bingo hall are readers and have given themselves a pat on the back for getting another player kicked out of the local Bingo hall for winning, should actually read this column: Shame on you! I would not spend a penny in any establishment that would let Bingo bullies rule!
—Susan, Hutchinson, Minnesota
Dear Susan,
Frustrated in Washington’s experience of being asked by a manager not to return to a Bingo hall because other patrons complained that he won too much has spawned a lot of mail—and rightly so.
In the past, I have noted in this column that Bingo is, in part, a social event, and that some players take the game much too seriously. But what you say in your letter is equally true: People go to Bingo primarily to win money, and they pay their fair share to purchase as much Bingo paper as they can handle in order to increase their odds of winning.
The idea that a group of players can persuade a manager to ban another player not for being disruptive or ill-mannered, but because the player is winning too much, is truly absurd. I would argue that this could be perceived as a form of cheating—removing anyone you feel is winning more than you from the hall so that you have a better chance of winning. That hall manager and those “Bingo bullies,” as you called them, should be ashamed.
—Aunt Bingo
Dear Aunt Bingo,
I’ve been wondering why people whistle after B-1 is called, and why they say “40” after N-40 is called? Thanks. —Kimberly, via e-mail
Dear Kimberly,
There are any numbers of local, regional, national, and even international traditions where Bingo players say and do different things when certain numbers are called.
A great resource for learning more about these is Bingo Lingo
(http://www.bingo-lingo.net/bingon.htm) an online dictionary of Bingo terms. It is British-based, so there will be some terms and definitions that won’t apply in the United States. But there is plenty of interesting stuff to read about.
—Aunt Bingo
Write to Aunt Bingo c/o the Bingo Bugle, P.O. Box
527, Vashon, Washington 98070, or e-mail her at
STENGL456@aol.com.
