londonbingo.net Blog » London Bingo News

6 Celeb Gamblers, and what they won

adminlo — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:29:21 +0000

Gambling is becoming increasingly popular, perhaps due to the rise in people who choose to play online. Online bingo is particularly popular among gamers because it is so easy to pick up and you can play whenever you want, wherever you want.

A lot of well known celebrities are avid gamblers, some of whom have won lots of money and have even invested in some famous casinos. Here is a guide to the top five celebrity gamblers and how much they have won.

1: George Clooney

You may remember his role in Ocean’s 11, playing a criminal that steals millions from a casino; however, Clooney’s interest in gambling and casinos goes beyond the silver screen. In real life he has taken an active role in the gambling business, investing an undisclosed sum in a $3 billion Las Vegas resort.

Clooney admitted that he could end up losing his shirt on this investment but he went onto say, “these guys are good at what they do”.

Clooney was famously spotted gambling with the cast and crew of Ocean’s11, playing blackjack. However, Clooney was losing a lot and despite what you might think, apparently he is notorious for having bad luck.

2: Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt also invested some money in a Las Vegas Casino and while filming Ocean’s 12; the cast and crew enjoyed some late night poker sessions. According to reports some were as good as professionals, with Brad Pitt supposedly particularly savvy.

3: Ben Affleck

When it comes to big winners, Ben Affleck has got to take the crown; he is said to be the best gambler in Hollywood. A trained poker player, those who have played against him say Ben has great instincts.

He famously won $356,000 (?220,000) at the California State Poker Championships; he also recently won a charity poker tournament. What more could you want, movie star good looks, great acting skills, a celebrity wife and exceptional poker skills?

4: Matt Damon

Another great gambler from the Ocean’s 11 crew is Matt Damon who famously loves to play poker. He believes that a good poker player has to be skilled as well as lucky saying that a line in one of his movies is close to his actual view about the game:

“Why do you think the same six guys end up at the final table at a World Series of poker every year? Are they the luckiest guys in Las Vegas? No, it’s because they’ve got skills.”

5: Tobey Maguire

Better known for his starring role in Spiderman, Tobey also loves to play poker. He won $186,000 (?114,000) at a tournament recently and $2,000 (?1,200) later in another competition. Apparently he usually has the best poker parties at his house, with high stakes. Oh to be a fly on that wall!

6: Pamela Anderson

Last but by no means least, Pamela Anderson. Another fan of poker, Pamela is rumoured to have married Rick Salomon to pay off huge gambling debts. Sources say she had debts of up to $250,000 (?153,000) cleared.

So, there you have it. Gambling fans can rest assured they are in good company with the top five biggest celebrity gamblers including some of the coolest Hollywood A-listers.

You can play online bingo and try to make some serious money, with a lot of people scooping major jackpots in recent weeks. For those who are more interested in poker or roulette, online games can be a good place to hone your skills.

Related bingo news:

Renovation of Bingo Halls a go go!

mabel — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 10:22:20 +0000

With the increase of internet bingo we are constantly hearing about how the future of land-based bingo is very uncertain. Throughout the entire country bingo halls are closing left, right and centre. But, the ones which are still open are making some significant changes to keep up to date with current trends. So much so that the Rank Group, who own Mecca Bingo online, are planning to spend roughly £3 million and numerous bingo halls are to get a ‘facelift’ in the process.

We all know that land-based bingo halls are finding it hard to keep enticing punters through their doors, especially with the smoking ban and the vast amount of online bingo clubs, traditional halls are struggling to maintain the same lure they used to have. But, the ones which are refusing to close and fighting to stay open are resorting to quite drastic measures to drag in the customers and this means some very expensive renovations.

So, the news that the Rank Group are planning a £3 million refurbishment is not a massive surprise. The Entertainment group is also going to invest £2.7 million to land based bingo halls within the North-West this year, giving the Mecca bingo clubs, in Sale and Southport a brand spanking new look. And it is not just the bingo halls which are going to be getting the star treatment either, Rank Group is also going to be freshening up numerous casinos within that same area, reinvesting in an attempt to try and capture a larger share of the market.

This huge spending spree is going to create new jobs, which can only be a good thing with the current state of the job market, and it also means that more traditional land-based bingo halls are going to remain open. As much as online bingo has its advantages such as convenience, it is still not the same as a girls night out with your friends playing the number spotting game and having a gossip!

Related bingo news:

Bingo Backing MPs Pledge to Fight for Fair Play

adminlo — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:40:22 +0000

Recent government statistics have revealed the rapid decline in the number of UK bingo halls. A decline of 29 per cent from 650 bingo halls in 1997 to 460 in 2010 has led to a campaign against what some MPs consider as foul play.

The fight for the survival of bingo halls may seem a surprising campaign for MPs to be backing as bingo games are a form of gambling, but the social aspect of the traditional bingo hall, known as land bingo, has clearly made its mark on the consciences of MPs from all three main political parties.

In autumn 2010, the Bingo Association announced that it had news from what is known as the All Party Parliamentary Group on Bingo (APPG). Since holding its first annual general meeting in October, the group embarked on a series of awareness campaigns with the aim of making land bingo games subject to the same level of VAT as other forms of gambling.

The campaigns were not successful in managing to exclude bingo from the rises; a result that many feel is unfair as VAT for online games has remained unchanged.

The group is chaired by the Conservative MP Brian Binley, who said: ‘I am delighted to have been elected as chair of the APPG on bingo. I have consistently called for a fairer taxation system for bingo halls in light of the social importance and that issue is a top priority for the group. You cannot underestimate the importance of bingo halls in the United Kingdom and I have been saddened by the closure of so many clubs over the last five years.’

New Labour MP Luciana Berger, elected as secretary of the group, commented: ‘Bingo was a big issue on the doorstep ahead of this
year’s election, which is why I pledged that if I was elected I would help the bingo industry reduce its tax burden. I am proud to have supported the bingo industry in the past but am now grateful that this new all party group has been formed to help drive the campaign forwards.’

Declining numbers at land bingo has been blamed on the impact of the smoking ban, the recent recession and the rising cost of VAT. On a night out everything has become more expensive and for bingo players, that bit extra is just too much. Many have turned to the increasingly popular online bingo games where you can have a night of fun without leaving the house. This trend has left land bingo halls struggling to compete and many independent and small venues closures.

It is easy to see why people are increasingly playing online bingo. The social aspect can be kept up with chat rooms but no longer does a player need to get dressed up and leave the house to participate. Free bingo games are common and without the need to buy drinks and food as you play; online bingo is cheap, accessible and yet retains its sociability. You can meet up with friends online or make new ones. Land bingo may be a victim of both the VAT increases and improved technology.

One of the popular bingo games online is no deposit bingo. This is when no deposit on your part is required to participate in an online bingo game. Online bingo sites can be quite competitive with their free bingo no deposit bonuses. By playing this method there is no risk to your finances.

The former Home Secretary Alan Johnson visited a land bingo venue in his constituency in November 2010 and saw firsthand how damaging the higher taxation rate is for the halls that are left in business. Other forms of gambling, online bingo and bookmakers are all subject to a lower rate of VAT and it is felt by many that the current legislation is an unfair application of taxation for the industry.

Steve Jones, manager of Alan Johnson’s local land bingo venue was delighted that the former Home Secretary had visited his local club. Steve said: ‘We appreciate Alan taking time out of his busy schedule to visit the club and talk to the team members about the social importance of bingo and its place in the local community. We hope that he will be able to use his role as Shadow Chancellor to press for a reduction in the unfair taxation of bingo.’

Alan said: ‘This is my first visit to the club and it was good to see first-hand just how important bingo is to customers from a social interaction perspective.’? He later commented that ‘bingo plays a key role in local communities so it’s important that they are subject to a fair tax regime.’

Whether people play land bingo or swap to play bingo games online, it is important to remember that bingo is gambling. Players are responsible for themselves and there is no certainty of any winnings. Free bingo is the only form of the game online that offers no financial risk. It will be interesting to see if the government admits foul play on the higher rate of bingo VAT and reduces it to play fair.

Related bingo news:

An average of two bingo halls close each month

Victoria — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:17:53 +0000

We all know that online bingo has taken the lead in how many people play it on a day to day basis but I have no idea that the situation was so bad that an average of two bingo halls a month are closing somewhere in our beloved nation!

Research carried out by Ernst & Young has found what a lot of people have thought for a while, that the online version of the number spotting game, and the more recent development of mobile bingo, has taken over the land-based traditional form of the popular past time.

The research states that in the last 5 years the number of bingo halls that are actually operating in the UK has dropped drastically from 678 to just 526, meaning that 25 of these have shut down for business within the last year alone.

It was approximately five years ago that online bingo took off in the UK and leading bingo giants Mecca Bingo and Gala Bingo got in on the action straight away, since then there are smaller sites popping up here, there and everywhere. With the smoking ban bingo clubs saw players leaving by the dozens preferring to stay at home to play where they can smoke as much as they like.

Most bingo halls in the UK are drawing in less than 1,000 players per week, with a lot of them on the brink of closing down as more and more people are seduced by the idea of playing the game online in the comfort of their own home. So what does the future hold for bingo halls?

Related bingo news:

A man suffered heart attack while playing bingo!

mabel — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:14:55 +0000

But, don’t worry he is now fine and recovering.

A bingo enthusiast suffered a heart attack while at this local bingo club enjoying himself playing the number spotting game but has now recovered and has returned for another contest – they do always say you have to get straight back on the horse!

The gentleman in question, Mr Lydon Wright of Goytre collapsed while he was playing the numbers game at his regularly frequented Castle Leisrue Club in Newport, as reported by the South Wales Argus.

Luckily for 57 year old Mr Wright, this is one of the very few clubs that is fully equipped with a defibrillator and the fully trained staff at the bingo hall were quick to react helping to bring Mr Wright round almost immediately.

John Featherstone and Marcus McLean were the actual employees who took action and it is probably their roles in the event which helped to save the father of six’s life, and fellow bingo player but fully qualifies nurse Kate Howells also helped out by performing CPR.

Despite Mr Wright’s poor health, as soon as he came round it was bingo he was thinking of. Mr Featherstone told the newspaper that the first thing he said was ‘Did I win?’, despite everyone esles concern it seems Mr Wright was not as fussed!

Once back on his feet, the retired butcher headed straight back to the bingo club and has been every Friday night to try his chances at winning the jackpot.

It seems that playing bingo could also help Mr Wright see in many more birthdays as 100 year old fan Fred Parry recently said that playing the game helped his brain to keep active.

Related bingo news:

Drinking application for Bingo hall in Surrey

Gladys — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:33:06 +0000

MP to Richmond Park in Surrey, Zac Goldsmith, has put his voice to concerns regarding plans for a 24-hour drinking license at a venue which could possibly become a 2,000 capacity nightclub!

Zac Goldsmith asked the council to put in place far stricter conditions on the applications to make the Kingston Arena inside the former Gala Bingo Hall on Richmond Road, Kingston. January 26th saw a coffee morning being held at the Grey Horse Pub at 9.30am to talk about the residents’ worries and concerns.

Mr Goldsmith said: “Residents are rightly concerned by this application. A 24-hour licence will make it possible for the owners to do more or less what they want, adding “I hope the council will be able to apply strict planning conditions so whatever happens on the site, it is within the bounds of what is acceptable to people living nearby.”

The secretary of the Richmond Road Residents’ Association has put together an online petition for anybody living close to the venue or in the nearby area to object. It declares that Kingston town centre does’t have the capacity to cater for another large venue and lists another 15 reasons for the grounds of objection!

A council spokesman said before it could open the venue would need a licence and planning permission, which has not yet been applied for.

Related bingo news:

Playing Bingo better than a night on the tiles

adminlo — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:04:59 +0000

Is it true that playing bingo is far more fun than going out on the town?

With the rise of online bingo it appears that getting all dressed up for a night about the town could soon be a thing of the past as a lot of women are now choosing to stay inside the comfort and warmth of their own home and play a fun game of online bingo.

Now, logging onto the net and playing a great game of online bingo is now one of the most popular things to do on the internet and one of the main causes of this is the fact that you can now chat with your friends as you are playing!
Chatting with your mates in the numerous chat rooms has become as much as part of playing the number spotting game online as much as it was when people used to go to their local bingo halls.

Yet another reason to stay indoors and play bingo games is all the amazing contests, competitions and jackpot prizes that are on offer every single day like winning cars, holidays and brand spanking new TV’s.

Bingo fans who are still unsure as to whether or not they are ready to put down their bingo dapper and get themselves on the net should get online and see all the fantastic bingo sites which are now available at the touch of a button!

Related bingo news:

Restaurant wins award by playing bingo!

mabel — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:49:48 +0000

A restaurant has won an award simply by playing bingo to raise money.

As a result of all their efforts in fundraising, including playing bingo games with their customers in order to raise money, the Ashvale Fish Restaurant in Aberdeen has been given an award for all their hard work. The Fish Restaurant collected their accolade of Contribution to the Local Community at the National Fish & Chips Awards ceremony.

The Ashvale Fish Restaurant opened their doors in 1985 and they are reported to be among the largest fundraising establishments in the local area and they often put on games of bingo to raise money for charity – no one can resist a good game of bingo!

The commercial manager of Nortech Foods, Gary Lewis, the sponsor of the Award said “The level of fundraising and ingenuity behind the Ashvale Fish Restaurant’s projects and also the way they raised awareness of their community was obviously a success.”

Related bingo news:

Get round the rise in VAT by playing online Bingo!

Victoria — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:55:28 +0000

Most people are not please about the rise in VAT, and I cannot blame them, and with the rise in general living costs a lot of people are trying to find ways in which to increase their household income.

As a result of this many people will find playing online bingo from the comfort of their own home far cheaper than actually taking a trip out to their local bingo hall.

From January 4th VAT rose to20% and as a result of this the price of an evening at the bingo has also increased. This has led many online bingo sites to question how long it will take for everyone to convert to playing the online game?

It has come to light that the average cost of playing bingo at a local venue has now risen to more than £30 a go! When comparing this to a night on your sofa playing bingo online – this is very expensive, especially if you like a play a few times a week!

One avid bingo fan, Ms Jakes, stated that “We have all started to play at Virgin Bingo as it is much cheaper, with free bingo every morning”.

Related bingo news:

How playing online bingo can help you!

Tom — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:16:19 +0000

The popularity of online bingo has gone through the roof in recent years and it is no surprise when you think about how much time people actually spend surfing the net nowadays!

Bingo has generally been a popular game within the UK, however traditionally it has always been played in Bingo halls with gaggles of female friends of all ages meeting up for their weekly bingo win. So when it transferred online there it no surprise that people have gone crazy for it!

Online bingo has now bought the thrill and excitement of the game into your own home and has also made it more accessible to every kind of demographic, which has been one of the main reasons for the rise in online gaming within the United Kingdom. Registering with one of the many online bingo sites such as Giggle Bingo or Red Bus Bingo allows you to play from the comfort and convenience of your own home, you never had to trot down to the local bingo hall to get your bingo fix!

There are several advantages of playing free bingo games in comparison to the traditional bingo hall experience.

- You are able to play anywhere and anytime you like
- You can interact with numerous other bingo fans using the different chat functions featured on the sites
- You will find some amazing promotions and prizes available due to the fierce competition of online bingo

While online bingo provides fun and exciting entertainment the financial side of playing can sometimes become a problem which is why you can now find free online bingo games available for you to take advantage of, and many of these even offer cash prizes!

Online bingo has really revitalised the bingo world and they typical bingo player is now young women in their mid-twenties rather than the typical old ladies who were always associated with the game. Most people see it as a great way to make some free money, especially in this hard economic climate.

So, why not see if you’re a bingo natural and find a great site for you to pass away the hours having fun and making money?

Related bingo news:

Playing Bingo reduces time in Hospital

Victoria — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:04:42 +0000

Salisbury District Hospital have recently issued a report which indicated that playing a regular game of bingo may aid some patients to get home from hospital far quicker than expected.

Hospital volunteers have been playing bingo with a group of elderly stroke victims for a couple of months and it has produced some interesting and positive results.

The report states that the motivation of the patients dramatically enhances when many bingo games are played on a regular if not daily basis. As well as an overall satisfaction within the ward increasing, episodes of depression had also decreased and the predicted length of hospital stay for the individual patients has reduced by roughly 25%.

The Head of the British Medical Association’s Science and Ethics Department, Dr Vivian Nathanson has claimed that she agrees with the findings the report has found and that other hospitals should be adding bingo to the list of activities available to patients on the appropriate wards.

When giving an interview on BBC’s Today Program, Dr Nathanson stated that the fact that continued high moral in patients is associated with a quick recovery. Additionally she said that adding activities which aim to stimulate the mind and senses of patients, like Bingo, can be a significant factor in getting patients back into their own homes much sooner than expected.

By reducing the amount of time people have to spend in hospital also has the additional positive and that is that it can potentially slice off the NHS care bill! Discharging patients earlier will save the individual hospitals money which can only be a good thing, especially in today’s economy.

So not only is bingo great to play at home and with friends but it also in hospitals! So will it catch on? The reports results so far are extremely positive and it appears that other hospitals in the same area are looking for volunteers to help begin bingo sessions in their wards too! The sooner patients can get home the sooner they can start living their lives again. Patients are also being encouraged to carry on playing the game when they return home to continue to aid recovery further.

Related bingo news:

Richard E Grant fighting to save film set Bingo hall

Tom — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:48:29 +0000

We have previously blogged about how much of a fan Richard E Grant is of Bingo and now he is proving his love for the game.The British actor is supporting a campaign to help save a bingo hall and cinema which is close to where the cult-film ‘Withnail and I’ was film nearly 25 years ago.

The cinema building is 100 years old and located in Lonsdale. Known locally as Alhambra, in the Cumbrian town of Penrith is be threatened with closure in just a few weeks as Graves, the business who owns it wish to sell the bingo hall attached to it as it’s making a loss.

Grant, along with the comedian Eddie Izzard, has signed an online petition. The petition currently has 3,000 signatories urging Graves to reconsider. But, currently the cinema is being scheduled to close on March 3rd.

The closest cinema to Penrith is located in Carlisle which is roughly 20 miles away, and every Sunday the Alhambra, which only has two screens accommodating 238 people, screens alternative films.

Richard E Grant has released a statement today claiming, “I hope the petition has a positive response, especially as this historic century-old cinema has been such a success, condemned to close due the failure of the bingo hall in the same building.”

Leader of the campaign, Dawn Stobbart, had said that this local cinema has been profitable and even doubled how many people have been attending film screenings in the last five years from 30,000 to 60,000. Although she did say the owners are extremely reasonable, however she did appeal to them to find a different solution.

Alan Towers, the Lonsdale boss, has claimed that he wanted to keep the cinema going but the landlords have had other ideas for this old building. He has described the whole period as ‘extremely sad’.

The cinema’s manager, Darren Horne, said: “People are far more angry than I thought they would be.

“We get stopped in the street by people asking what’s on at the cinema. It is those connections that have made the impact so harshly felt.”

Although the decision has been made with ‘sincere regret’ claims Graves, the bingo hall has been making losses for the past three years. With the increased popularity of online bingo and the smoking ban, the bingo hall has really been hit hard.

Related bingo news:

Uk Bingo In 2011

mabel — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 19:46:00 +0000

Over recent years the playing habits on bingo in the UK have gone through some radical changes. Once upon a time the game of bingo was considered to be played by little old ladies nattering over their bingo cards in run down bingo halls but the introduction of online bingo has changed this for the foreseeable future.

The emergence of online bingo websites has caused a storm in the UK.

UK bingo

players are now, generally, young women who play UK Bingo in their spare time as well as with groups of friends. It has become fashionable to spend time seeing if numbers appear on your lucky cards.

And not only that, the prizes for winning bingo are no longer small sums of money but instead, online bingo sites offer huge cash prizes, holidays and expensive gadgets to their UK players. But, do not be fooled into thinking the online version of bingo has lost the social aspect of the in hall game. There are discussion forums and boards that online players can use and 2011 is bringing with it the introduction of newer technology such as instant chat and 3D technology.

Initially the boom of online bingo caused bingo halls to start closing down in the UK as fans saw the benefits of being able to play at home, however this is now starting to turn around. Bingo halls are seeing an increase in players attending their games because of the revised interest and love for te number spotting game.

So as you can see the UK has fast become a bingo loving nation. With the advantages of playing at home online, such as being able to do other things like cook dinner and look after your children, as well as the comfort of playing in your pj’s, and the fun nights out which can be had at bingo halls, there is no reason for UK bingo players to not their get fix whenever the mood takes them!

Related bingo news:

VAT increase to affect Bingo halls

Jaymac — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:42:25 +0000

We see it in the news every single day now, how is the rise in VAT going to affect us all? Yes, it may help the country get out of debt but at what expense?

Well, I bet bingo never crossed your mind when thinking about the increased shopping bills and rises in petrol prices, but yes the world of bingo is being forced to change too!

As the standard rate of VAT is changing from 17.5 per cent up to 20% as of yesterday, everything is going to be more expensive. Even having fun is going to cost you more. With the growing popularity of online bingo, traditional bingo halls are going to find it even harder to get people through their double doors.

Bingo has always been seen as a fairly cheap game for people to have a drink and socialise with friends but the increase in price will be sure to curtail how many trips people are making on a weekly basis.

Jackie Jakes is an avid bingo player but she told the news provider it is getting too expensive for her to continue to play as often as she wants.

“I use to play live bingo at least twice a week and sometimes more. I have had to cut down to one night per week for the last six months,” she noted.

Related bingo news:

Bingo Fundraiser for Best Friend Jane

Victoria — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:39:16 +0000

Helen Clark organised a fund raising bingo night to raise money for her best friend Jane Spickett who died due to Melanoma cancer. Not letting herself give in to the grief she felt, Helen was strong and decided to do what she could to raise money for the two hospitals who helped Jane through her illness.

Jane Spickett was unfortunately diagnosed with Melanoma cancer seven years ago but was not letting it get the better of her and had not long been give the 5 year all-clear from her doctors. However, at the end of 2008 she was sadly given the awful news that the cancer has returned.

Helen said: “Throughout even the darkest of days, Jane always remained positive, but she passed away in October 2009, aged 41.”

Not long after the anniversary of Jane’s death, Helen organised a Bingo fundraising night at the Masonic Hall in Barry to celebrate everything Jane enjoyed – joining the bingo was karaoke and disco!

Each table honoured Jane with her picture and a vase of sunflowers – her favourite!

“There was no difficulty in quickly selling all the tickets to the event – with many people unfortunately left disappointed,” said Helen.

“During the evening a raffle was drawn and an auction was held for prizes donated by local businesses and friends – too many to mention but a special thanks to all.”

The evening raised £1,500, which will be donated to the Marie Curie Hospice Penarth (Holme Tower), and to Velindre Hospital where Dr S Kumar, the consultant who treated Jane, is hoping to start a fund for a specialist Melanoma nurse.

Related bingo news:

Bingo fun for the Homeless at Christmas

mabel — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:37:01 +0000

In the name of Christmas good will some very self-less volunteers dedicated their Christmas Day to serve hot meals to the homeless people of Gloucestershire! Now could you get anymore giving than that?

The Charity workers, who give their time helping at the Vaughan Centre in Southgate Street, Gloucester, served up a turkey dinner with all the Christmas trimmings to the more vulnerable members of the local community.

Also, in Cheltenham, staff at the Open Door Project in St Luke’s Hall cheered up their Christmas diners with fun filled bingo games, board games and crackers! Who doesn’t enjoy a good game of bingo when you’re feeling a bit down?

People who attend these kinds of shelters said that this kind of effort by caring and giving individuals really helps with what can be a very lonely time of year.

One of the homeless individuals in Gloucester, Dishon Nandi, said that “It has been brilliant! The food has been absolutely fantastic and there is a good atmosphere with everyone here together.

“Christmas can be a really tough time for a lot of people who either don’t have a home, or live on their own.
“To be able to share it with other people makes it far more enjoyable.”

Related bingo news:

‘Grand Old Lady’ the Adelphi is for sale

mabel — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 16:12:13 +0000

One of the most iconic buildings in Sheffield, ‘Grand Old Lady’, has been put on the market by the owner in hopes that someone will bring it back to its former glory with a much needed refurbishment.

The real name for the building, The Adelphi, located on Vicarage Road in Attercliffe is going to be sold through the London firm Paramount Investment in the hope of attracting a serious buyer. It’s on the marketing for £220,000, however the owner will consider ‘unconditional offers’.

Stuart Oliver, agent for the company, said: “The Adelphi is for sale with full vacant possession.”

The Grand Old Lady is a Grade II listed building and was originally opened in 1920 as a picture house but has now been disused since 2006. However, there is heaps of opportunity for a number of different redevelopments including a leisure or shopping facility!

It is a stunning building and has had many purposes in the past including both a venue for Asian weddings!

This building is a dream for any property developer and the right person could really make this structure into a vital and prosperous asset for Attercliffe. But it is in need of a good clean up and someone with quite a lot of vision.

The building, which is made of red-brick and terracotta, was designed by the architect WC Fenton as an auditorium and help approximately 1,350 people. There were tiered stalls and circle levels, in addition to a projection room at the back of the building. There was also a kitchen, dining area and office space!

The Adelphi was a cinema until 1976, when after it became a thriving bingo hall from 1990 right through until 1996 when it was redeveloped into a night club until 2006. And it has been closed ever since!

Check out our sister site for a great bingo bonus.

Related bingo news:

Burglary in Spalding leads to Manager being hit!

Tom — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:38:14 +0000

Christmas is always a time for people going out of their way to do something outstanding and that was the case for the staff at a bingo club in Spalding when they foiled an attempted burglary last Tuesday!

It was a normal evening in the bingo hall with everyone enjoying a nice game at the Regent Bingo Club when two well built men forced their way into the building. They immediately ran upstairs to where the offices are located and began searching the rooms for all the money they could find.

The brave assistant manager, Marcus Druce, went straight upstairs after them and confronted the two men. The police were then alerted straight away by fellow staff members by a 999 emergency call.

Police officers were able to arrest one man straight away but the other one legged it and was running around the club for a few minutes before also getting caught. What a way to start your Christmas week!

Although one of the staff members was physically hit during the attempted robbery, they denied medical assistant.

Marcus Druce was praised by the operations manager Dave Holt and his actions saved the club from losing a lot of money! Mr Holt said “Thankfully Marcus has sustained only minor injuries and the customers were busy playing bingo at the time.”

Brought to you by London Bingo News

Related bingo news:

Boxing Day Bingo hall Opening

adminlo — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 13:11:51 +0000

All you ever read about now is all the traditional bingo halls closing due to the boom in online bingo sites but Boxing Day in Castleford showed that this is not always the case with the opening of a brand new Bingo Hall!

Because Christmas fell on a Saturday this year we have all been treated to a long bank holiday with Monday and Tuesday being treated this way! But this did not stop the Castleford Bingo lovers, and Ritz Bingo had an amazing opening on Boxing Day!

But, putting an added twist on the day, everyone who arrives to play Bingo will be given a free Easter egg! Well chocolate is chocolate isn’t it? But, Alan Gamban, manager of the venue, said they always try to give customers strange gifts.

“By the time this day comes around, people are getting a bit tired of the whole Christmas thing,” he added, while previous gifts have included a set of bathroom scales” A bit bizarre but there are no rules when it comes to free Christmas presents!

Related bingo news:

How much do you love online Bingo?

adminlo — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 13:04:01 +0000

The United Kingdom has become Bingo mad with a recent study showing that Bingo was the most popular leisure activity in the female age group between the ages of 20 and 25! This is so different from the typical stereotypes people often had of being players – that being of little old ladies sitting around and moaning!

The traditional game used to held in Bingo Halls across the UK with groups of friends all meeting up for the same game every single week. But now, this could not be any more further from the truth.

The bingo playing community has moved online with internet bingo sites popping up left right and centre and many of the flourishing due to the high demand! But do you know how many hours you spend playing online bingo?

New online bingo sites are able to sprout up every week because of the rush of traffic the sites get from people trying to play. The traffic is often so intense that it causes the sites to be less efficient than they are capable of being.

This demand shows that people are spending more and more time playing online bingo sites than in the past. When in a typical bingo hall, all you could do is play but now people are able to multi-task as well as potentially earning thousands of pounds!

It is also far more sociable in the sense that people are less shy to talk to strangers in a chat room compared to starting up a conversation with them face to face and many people have built quite strong friendships with people they have met through the sites. And it is this socialising whilst enjoying themselves which keeps the bingo lovers on the sites for even longer.

But of course people cannot survive solely on playing online bingo and with anything which is extremely fun it needs to be moderated to stop it becoming addictive! Most people see playing online bingo as a treat rather than a ‘must’ and often play for an hour after work to help them unwind or on a Saturday when they have got rid of the kids for a few hours. After all what can be more relaxing than winning a jackpot and not have to worry about the next bill payments!

Related bingo news:

Are you having a Bingo NYE?

adminlo — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 12:55:18 +0000

How are you spending your NYE this year? Are you going to follow the masses into the jam packed and highly priced clubs? Spend it watching fireworks with family? Or will you be joining us at Posh Bingo?

When it comes to throwing an amazing New Years Eve party Posh Bingo is the place to be! And if you have plans to avoid the cold and staggering drunkards then get yourself down to the best chat party in town. Don your best PJ’s, favourite drink in hand and settle on down for some fantastic NYE Bingo!

And to make it even better NYE celebrations at this fantastic internet bingo site will continue from 30th December 2010 to 3rd January 2011, now who else is going to be celebrating that hard?

Why not make it a part with your friends, laptops are for fun in every locations! So get dresses up, put on the party food and you can all celebrate and play your favourite game at the same time, who says you need to be alone. Take some amazing pics and send them into Posh Bingo as well to show just how much fun you had!

The best dressed will be selected and be in with the chance to win 25,000 Joy Points – what a bingo bonus! And do not drink so much that you forget about the amazing Joy Pot which is going to be played on New Years Day giving some very lucky winner a great start to the year with £25,000.

The Black and White New Years Chat Party will be throwing around extra cash and fabulous prizes. There is a Guest List chat room also for you to try and get into from 8pm to 12 midnight and there is also special chat games and double Joy Points to be won!

But don’t be fooled! This is not the only Bingo NYE party going on. Make sure you check out other partying bingo sites such as Giggle Bingo and RedBus Bingo to see exactly what’s on offer!

Related bingo news:

Celebrities Love Bingo Too!

adminlo — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:07:29 +0000

British actor, Richard E Grant, has admitted to his love of bingo and says he especially enjoys the pastime in the Christmas season!

The TV and motion picture star confessed his love for the game to the Daily Telegraph and said it is one of the things he most looks forward to on Christmas day.

Grant is going to the chef Nigella Lawson’s house on Christmas day for an amazing festive feast and claimed he was a mega Christmas-acholic.

“As you can imagine there’s an enormous amount of food and after lunch we do karaoke and play bingo. People are always very competitive about who is going to be caller,” Grant observed.

It looks like we’ll not be the only ones dabbling in a little bingo fun when Christmas day rolls around!

Related bingo news:

Bingo workers raise £50,000 for Charity

adminlo — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:05:08 +0000

Employees of a bingo hall have received heaps of praise after managing to raise £50,000 for a selected charity!

The staff at a Bingo Hall in Walsgrave have performed a number of sponsored activities in order to raise the large sum.

Some of the activities include skydives, bikes rides, marathons, bingo supermarket reports and also the infamous Three Peaks Challenge which entails climbing Snowdon, Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike, the three highest peaks in the UK!

All of the money raised is going to be handed over to Sue Ryder Care. This charity provides four million hours of care every year for individuals suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease and many other ailments.

Gary Colledge, general manager of the bingo hall, said: “I am just so proud of what we have achieved as a team. Six months ago I never would have believed that we could raise … the £50,000 grand total.”

Vicki Collins is the fundraiser at Sue Ryder Care and she has been astounded at the effort all the members of staff were willing to put in. That amount of money is going to make a tremendous difference!

Related bingo news:

Bingo Players Become Foster Carers

adminlo — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 23:35:25 +0000

A new kind of bingo event has been organised in Blackburn to ask bingo players to consider becoming foster carers.

A Gala Bingo hall in Blackburn has set about arranging this special event to inform potential foster parents of the positives of becoming a carer and the necessary steps they would need to take if they were interested.

This innovative event is a part of the ‘You Can Foster’ initiative that actively seeks families and individuals in the North-West of the country to foster.

The managing director of the Gala Bingo Hall, Simon Wakes, said that “New bingo halls are aimed at attracting younger people from the ages of 18 to 35 who are now coming to play.”

He then continues to state that the Bingo Hall is not simply about enjoying the pastime of Bingo but also a “whole leisure experience”

One of the many reasons behind the You Can Foster initiative is that there is, at present, a shortfall of approximately 2,000 foster carers within the stated area.

Related bingo news:

Happy New Year to Bingo Cams

Victoria — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:08:16 +0000

As we all know online bingo has massively taken over from traditional bingo halls. But, it has managed to remain social with the likes of bingo chat and bingo hosts. There are also forums and discussion boards on all the sites to allow members to talk.
But, it about the get even more interactive! There is a new online bingo site which is going to launch in the New Year called Bingo Cams. This site has something special, something different to offer…you will be able to use your webcam whilst playing bingo!

This internet bingo site offers a completely new experience, not only letting bingo players talk whilst playing but also to see each other and share in there celebrations – making online bingo totally live!

The only requirement to get involved with this interactive fun is that you have a webcam. Bingo Cams is allowing it’s users to get one step closer to the bingo hall experience without having to leave their homes or arrange child care for their children, they can have fun and still do their day to day duties!

To understand and learn exactly how it works you’ll have to go and take a peep when the site launches and if your bingo celebration is ever caught online you could be in with a chance of winning even more bingo prizes!

To make sure you don’t miss out on this brand new type of fun pre-register on Bingo Cams now. This means you’ll be included in the big launch promotion and could also win some cash prizes.

Related bingo news:

Swindon Bingo hall reopens

adminlo — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 23:46:47 +0000

With all the bingo halls that are closing down left right and centre we are pleased to announce that not all of them are being left to decay and fall down! An old bingo hall in Swindon is re-opening as an entertainment venue.

So many people gave turned to internet bingo sites because of the convenience of playing in their own home as and when they want and the incredible prizes they offer. But as with everything there are consequences, and these consequences are that traditional bingo halls are being forced to close.

Now though, Swindon can get their bingo fix at home and come to the re-launched venue for some media entertainment.
This former Mecca Bingo venue has been cleverly renamed MECA. Although this is a play on words, it also stands for music, entertainment, cultural arena!

The new venue was opened with a night of white collar boxing which had 6 bouts. The night was organised by the former boxing champion Eddie Neilson. Approximately 350 people attended the opening night, including some people who used to play bingo there.

But, boxing is not the only type of event which will take place. Other nights on the agenda are dnace act Chase and Status and rapper Example will be taking to the stage on December 27th.

Related bingo news:

Bingo Hall set for Conversion into Pub

adminlo — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:07:15 +0000

A disused Bingo hall and cinema in the town of Whitstable, Kent , is to be given a new lease of life and see the return of some of the people who once used to be dotting those cards back in the day, after a pub chain was given permission to convert the property.

Local website This is Kent reports that the city’s council and licensing body has given approval to nationwide chain JD Wetherspoon to open a public house within the old building.

I’m sure one or two of the old bingo patrons will be down to check out the new venue, and perhaps try a drink or two as well.

People may have turned to the vast world of online bingo to get their fix, the reported £1 million pound conversion could bring up to 40 jobs into the area, from bar staff, catering staff and duty managers

“There were some concerns raised but we intend to preserve the interior character of the building as its history is integral to the development,” JD Wetherspoon’s Nigel Connor told the news source.

In other news, Birmingham Mail reported of a bingo venue in Dudley that could be redeveloped to provided increased access to 2 of the town’s main attractions – the zoo and Castle Hill.

Related bingo news:

Two Halls face Bomb Threats

adminlo — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:16:08 +0000

Two bingo halls have had to deal with separate bomb threats on the same day this month.

Bingo players in two bingo halls in America had a stressful time of it on Friday 12th November. Firstly Lee County Bomb Squad had to investigate after a suspicious package was found at Pondella Bingo Hall in North Fort Myers, after a thorough and extensive investigation, they concluded it was just a box of fuses.

Then, just four minutes later, another bomb alert was sounded at South 41 Bingo on Cleveland Avenue. The building was evacuated and comprehensively searched and another unattended box was found, and although the road was closed off for safety, it turned out to be filled with fuses as well. The road reopened soon after.

The bingo players were soon back playing their favourite games, and had something to gossip about while waiting for those full houses!

Related bingo news:

Halifax Bingo Hall Raise over £1K for charity!

adminlo — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:10:17 +0000

Regulars at the popular Mecca Bingo Hall in Halifax raised £1,100 to help people with and recovering from cancer.

The event was held in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care, a well known charity which was established in 1948, the same year as the NHS.

The generous Bingo lovers actually managed to raise an extra £140 more than the target which they had set themselves for the end of 2010! Very impressive.
The event consisted of several different bingo games and also aimed to attract new players as well as the same familiar faces.

“It’s inspiring to see how generous people have been especially given how difficult this year has been financially for many,” said Graeme Ewart, manager at the bingo hall.”

Everyone who attended did their bit to give as much as they could to the charity and Graeme had nothing but praise for all involved, both attendees and organisers – the day was a huge success!

Related bingo news:

Living for Bingo!

adminlo — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:13:53 +0000

Many of us around the world are avid bingo fans, however some people see it as a way of life, and Cynthia Klivan is one of them.

Like any normal day Cynthia arrived at her local bingo club nice and early and snapped up her favourite seat by the snack bar. Preferring to have a couple of hours to get herself settled, she took her time to unload her bingo supplies from her special and designated Bingo bag!

These supplied consisted of Bingo daubers, pink like her bag, clear celotape to hold her bingo cards nice and still as well as her bingo chips for the lap boards and a magnetic wand which makes scooping them up so much easier.

But, before any bingo mayhem can begin Cynthia always has her bingo breakfast – rye toast and a nice hot cup of coffee.
One of the things Cynthia loves about her Bingo lifestyle is catching up on all the gossip about what everyone has been getting up to.

Cynthia is a retired parole-board clerical supervisor and goes to her Nostrand Bingo Hall in Brooklyn about 6 days a week. Although the hall has two games a day, once in the morning at 11.30am and once in the evening at 7pm, Cynthia is purely a day player!

It’s true that some may believe basing your life around bingo games is not the way to live but many people gravitate towards Nostrand Bingo Hall in the pursuit of human interaction, conversation and of course to see if they can win a little bit of extra cash!

Cynthia has enjoyed the game for nearly 30years now and enjoys it so much that it was the first place she asked to go when collected from the hospital after recovering from cancer. It’s people like Cynthia who keep traditional Bingo Halls going, let’s hope there are more like her for years to come!

Related bingo news:

Wetherspoon’s have axed their Bingo Hall plans

adminlo — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:10:42 +0000

There is at least one in every town and city across the country. That’s right, we all know the JD Wetherspoon brand!

However, the much loved public house chain have recently axed their plans to redevelop a formed bingo hall into one of their new outlets.

The once Bingo Hall in Cambuslanf, Lanarkshire, was initially bought by Wetherspoon with the intention of refurbishing the building into a brand new family bar, and planning permission was underway. The redevelopment was supported by local council as well as residents of the area because of the fact that the building was in dire need of some investment.
You probably wouldn’t believe it but only two years ago the Wetherspoon’s brand applied to convert the once Savoy Bingo Club into a licensed premise.

However, a spokesman for the pub chain commented “We can confirm that the building is up for sale, when Wetherspoon’s purchased it two or three years back, the sole intention was to develop into a pub”.

But it has come about that the company have decided they do not wish to proceed. Let’s hope that someone sees the potential in this building soon!

Related bingo news:

Bye Bye to another Bingo Hall

adminlo — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:33:45 +0000

Very soon a derelict bingo hall is going to be demolished and replaced with a home furnishings store.

As more and more people are choosing to stay at home and play bingo from the comfort of their own bedrooms, more and more bingo halls are being forced to close and become derelict and this is exactly what happened to a former Mecca Bingo hall on Liverpool.

The hall which is located at the Switch Island Leisure Park was transformed into Dunelm Mill’s 100th store and opened on December 2nd, just in time for Christmas!

The old hall closed down in 2006 and with it 28 individuals were made jobless.

Chief executive of Dunelm Mill Will Adderley said: “Because we have such a large range of products to choose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice.”

Related bingo news:

Bingo Thief Finally Caught!

adminlo — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:31:55 +0000

It has taken four years, but at last a man who robbed a Bingo hall in Essex has been caught and brought to justice!
That’s right, the incident happened four years ago! But now the individual who stole money from a bingo hall in Pitsea, South Essex is on the run no more.

The robbery occurred in a Gala Bingo hall back in 2006 and the man responsible, 28 year old Lynton King, also threatened the staff who were working that night at knife point. But it King was not alone! Him and his accomplice Leroy Hippolyte forced their way into the hall wearing rubber gloves and crash helmets to try and hide their identity.

It is incidents like this that cause people to stay at home and have their bingo fun on internet bingo sites!

Although police did manage to arrest King in March 2007, he soon went on the run. However, he was relocated earlier this year as a result of another unrelated offence, and was found guilty to both robbery in action and failing to surrender in custody.

“I am pleased King has finally been brought to justice, more than four years after committing this robbery,” said detective constable Darren Ward of Basildon CID.

Related bingo news:

Mecca Bingo gets Environmental

adminlo — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 18:37:50 +0000

For those of you familiar with the great bingo website Mecca bingo you will already know that the site has had a major overhaul and makeover recently. Now to add to that, and entice the more environmentally conscious of internet bingo players out there, Mecca has gone green!

To go into more detail, Mecca has decided to support the new government run scheme by offering their bingo players the chance to win energy saving gadgets for free! The aim is to help players reduce their carbon footprint and indeed their household bills, which is nice of them!

One of the gadgets they will be giving away is a nifty little item called the ‘Water Widget’. Using this and combining it with your own shower head can turn it into an eco shower, saving you up to an impressive £80 on your water bill per year. Just make sure you check out the details on the website because the widget doesn’t fit onto every type of shower head.

Also up for grabs is a new invention hot on the market, an energy saving plug! Worth £19.99, this plug can save you up to £20 a year by turning your appliances off standby via the remote control.

To claim your free gadget simply click log into (or create) your Mecca Bingo account and look for the link to this green promotion, click the link provided and fill out the details. The offer ends on the 31st of December so make sure you get involved before then. Don’t miss out on this amazing bingo bonus and a chance to save some dough!

With Mecca Bingo leading the way will sites such as Virgin Bingo and RedBus Bingo follow suit? Why not check out their sites to see?

Related bingo news:

Playing Caesars Bingo could win you a Trip to Las Vegas!

adminlo — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 22:06:57 +0000

Whenever we play bingo we all have the thought in the back of our minds that this could be the time we win big! Now at Caesars Bingo you could get the chance to win a once in the lifetime trip to Sin City itself, Las Vegas. A V.I.P stay at the world famous Caesars Palace Hotel could be yours.

With top-class gaming facilities and amazing events and entertainment, which have included Cher, Celine Dion and Rod Stewart, you have to be in it to win this amazing bingo bonus.

All you have to do to be in with a chance to win this fantastic package worth £5000 is sign up as a new player to the site. Along with this you get also get welcomed with a 200% bonus with any first deposit up to £100 and if you deposit the minimum amount of £10, you get a recession busting £30 to play with.

As if all of this wasn’t enough, you also receive 20 free bingo cards after your first deposit, and to top all this off, you get a 50% reload bonus on all of your future deposits of a minimum of £10. All this means Caesars bingo brings you one of the best bonus packages around right now.

The site itself doesn’t disappoint, with a shiny Las Vegas theme, all you need is a touch of imagination and you could almost be in Vegas already!

Whether you’re playing 90 or 75 ball bingo, you have your chance to win your Bingo within a set number of ball calls. Doing so will net you the game Jackpot and also start the Caesars Bingo progressive jackpot.
As well as the great bingo games, you can also play a wide variety of slots and casino games, which you can play with using your cash pot, or your bingo bonuses.

To make sure you manage to reap the benefits of all the amazing bingo offers out there be sure to look at sites such as USA bingo and Ruby Bingo to see what’s on offer!

Related bingo news:

Free Bingo Event Worth $50K

adminlo — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 14:27:55 +0000

BingoHouse are inviting all avid online bingo players to take part in their huge $50K bingo Free Roll tournament which is taking place daily throughout November.

This is one of the largest free roll bingo tournaments to ever take place in the online world. The games have been starting daily at approximately 6pm and continue into the very small hours of the morning, finishing at around 1am Eastern Standard Time.

All internet bingo players need to do is log into BingoHouse.com and click through to the ‘$50K Bingo Free Roll’ room and then play until their heart is content on the free bingo games.

A value game of $10,000 with a minimum cash prize of $100 shall occur three times every single hour, so roughly once every 20 minutes. As well as this every Friday at 11pm will see the Bingo Tourney Room offer a $1,000 game with completely free cards!

Unfortunately this offer is only open to American players however with so many amazing online bingo sites available in the UK you would be daft to not shop around for the best offers. The Christmas season has gone to everyone’s head and with the likes of RedBus Bingo and Virgin Bingo offering some incredible prizes you would be silly to not join in!

Related bingo news:

Mecca Bingo Xmas Light Switch On!

adminlo — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 13:53:17 +0000

Taunton will be full of excited young children and happy families today all gathered in the town centre to see the annual Christmas lights get switched on!

There is free parking to take advantage of as well as a three day international market to keep people entertained offering amazing Christmas and festive goodies. Visitors will be able to see buy Christmas gifts from all over the world, including wood carvings, clothing and lots lots more.

All this frosty fun is being sponsored by Mecca Bingo, who also host an incredible internet bingo site as well as offering lovely bingo halls, in association with Orchard shopping centre white lining company WJ Roadmarkings South West and Total Star Somerset radio station.

There is also going to be a fantastic fun fair hosted by Castle Green offering rides for both adults and children.

After a mooch around the market and enjoying some rides, guests will be able to see Father Christmas on stage before 5pm, with the lights bring turned on at approximately 5.35pm. They will also be treated to a Heliosphere around that time too!

The show which will last approximately 5 minutes will then be followed by a fireworks display! So although you may be enjoying the warmth of your home on online bingo sites such as Bingo Yard and Bingo Playground, it will definitely be worth a trip outside.

Throughout the day, not only will guests be treated to the market and fun fair but several live performances of rock, swing and jive music shall be taking place to keep everyone’s spirits up in the cold winds.

But, something not to be missed is the special visit from Santa Claus in the town centre during the afternoon. He will kindly be offering families with children of a pre-school and primary school age the chance to ride in a horse drawn sleigh through the streets.

However, if you are unable to experience this as it is working on a first come first serve basis do not worry. There is also a petting pen and pony rides taking place, with a Reindeer Pen managed by Santa’s elves, to provide you with some brilliant seasonal photos!

Related bingo news:

A Very Different Kind Of Bingo

Jaymac — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:25:33 +0000

We all know students can come up with some ‘interesting’ games but who ever thought we would see the day when they all sat down to play condom bingo!

But, it did happen. Last Wednesday numerous American students all gathered to play a lovely game of condom bingo – at least they’re being safe right?

In the makeshift bingo hall a table could be seen full of sexual health leaflets and condoms. With them on various tables were also lollies, cookies and donuts, all seen as suitable snacks and nibbles for such an event.
One of the students who attended had a great time and liked how although it was a serious topic it was kept light hearted to keep everyone feeling comfortable.

“The choice of treats were very suggestive and funny,” she said.

The bingo questions were also kept light hearted but organisers ensured that some very serious issues were covered so students could get the most information possible. Questions included; “Do all STDs have symptoms?” to “How effective are condoms when used perfectly?”

As you can imagine the corresponding answers were written on each of the bingo cards and the goal of the bingo game was to correctly cross out the answers and the first to cross out a line or full house won. The underlying goal of the organisers, however, was to try and teach the students sexual health information while they were having fun.

The students not only had a great time but also learnt a huge mount, “It was a fun and educational experience. I wish it had lasted longer,” said 3rd floor freshman Gabby Gayheart.
This is exactly what the organisers hoped they would achieve.

“I chose to have condom bingo as a floor event because I thought it would be a fun way to educate residents about sexual health,” she said. “I wanted to do something educational, but also something that people would want to go to.”

If internet bingo is more your cup of tea there are some amazing offers available now that we are heading to Christmas. Why not have a look at the numerous sites to see what is on offer? Some great sites to look at include RedBus Bingo and Posh Bingo.

Related bingo news:

And the Winner is…

Tom — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:03:23 +0000

Yes ladies and gents the time has come, once again, when online bingo players can vote for their favourite online chat room manager!

Yes bingo lovers! Voting has now opened for the 2010 Chat Manager (CM) of the Year awards. This year it is being organised by WhichCM.com. This website states that it is the only one available on the internet which is committed to applauding the efforts, triumphs and successes of the individual in charge of internet bingo rooms.

Nominations take place every month, where avid bingo players are asked to vote for whom they feel is the most deserving of the title. There is a leader board which is published each week in order to keep people up dated with the up and comings in the online bingo community.

There will soon be a shortlist of contenders, which bingo lovers have been advised to keep their eye peeled for. It is due to be released later in November and the search for the best CM officially starts on the 1st December.

“As every bingo site out there is listed, this could be absolutely any CM who you have had the pleasure to play with,” it was observed.

It has been leaked that one of the potential winners could be GOLDENGIRL. She is the featured CM in the UK on WhichCM.com this month and as well as keeping control over the bingo excitement she also manages to run her husband’s security firm and be a great mum to two small boys.

Have you met one amazing CM? Is your favourite CM on sites such as Eat Sleep Bingo or Virgin Bingo? If so make sure your opinion is known!

Related bingo news:

Barbara Windsor Jumping for Jackpot Joy

Tom — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:48:21 +0000

She was loved for her role in Eastenders and now she is loved as the face of Jackpotjoy Bingo – is there nothing Barbara Windsor can’t do?

It’s nothing she doesn’t deserve and when good old Babs was handed this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award by the Variety Club of Great Britain, I don’t think anyone could think of a more suitable winner. She is now the ruler of show business as well as an internet bingo site.

But don’t think this lovely lady is now quietly retired. In between preparing or the Dick Whittington panto, appearing on the One Show this Friday and also being mentioned on Harry Hill’s TV Burp, she is one very busy bee!

Her role as the Jackpotjoy Bingo queen is not only benefitting her by keeping her in the public eye but it is also raising the profile of the online bingo site for them. There is no one above the age of 12 who does not know who Barbara Windsor is, she is a national treasure.

But she left the Cinderella style Queen outfit behind when she collected her award, instead she looked completely stunning in a sparkly pinstripe tuxedo. Showing the young fashionistas how it’s done.

When at the awards, which took place at Grosvenor House in Park Lane in London she was clearly emotional and commented, “It’s wonderful to get an award. Gee whiz, you leave EastEnders, you think people will forget about you, but this is great.”

Jumping on the internet bingo band wagon was a great shout by the real Eastender. The popularity of these online games has gone sky high over recent years and this does not look like it’s about to change. If internet bingo is your thing why not check out similar sites such as Redbus Bingo and Giggle Bingo?

Related bingo news:

A 3rd way to play bingo

Victoria — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:50:54 +0000

A night down at the local bingo hall with a group of friends can be a huge laugh and the convenience of online bingo is outstanding, but could there be another way to play this exciting game?

The answer is yes! A new craze has emerged in Ireland…drive-in bingo!

All because of the smoking ban County Meath in Ireland has started its own drive-in bingo hall. The rules are all pretty much the same. Just like a drive-in film everyone parks their cars in an organised manner, turn their engines off and buy their tickets.

Obviously the bingo caller needs to assistance of a microphone for everyone to hear him but other than that it continues as normal. When a car wins they simply hoot their horn and wave their arms. Then one of the organisers delivers their winnings to their window! Now that’s what I call a bingo bonus.

Seamus Davis the event organiser says, “It’s also a great laugh and there’s been a lot of positive reaction. You can relax in your own car with friends or family, have a smoke if you want, and enjoy the game and not worry about parking. It is really catching on, and word of mouth is helping out with this.”

Will this idea become a hit in the UK? Maybe during the summer time but I doubt us Brits will be willing to leave to comfort of our warm homes during the winter when we could just log onto sites such as RedBus Bingo or Ruby Bingo and have a quick flutter.

Related bingo news:

Bingo Hall to be replaced with Hotel!

Tom — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 15:59:32 +0000

An empty bingo hall in Inverness is going to be knocked down to make room for a £8M Premier Inn.

The work to transform the worn down and miss used bingo hall has begun in the city of Inverness.

Workmen started with diggers and bulldozers on the 23rd in order to demolish the bingo hall situated in Huntly Street. It’s replacement, a multi-million pound Premier Inn, which is going to include a bar, restaurant and even conference facilities.

However, the bingo hall venue has not only been used for this purpose, it was also a cinema, but has now been closed down and empty since 2005. And, due to it being empty for this amount of time is has become a trouble spot for young drinkers.

The property owner, Ardmuir, who is based in Aberdeen, states that the brand new hotel shall bring more than 40 new jobs to the area.

The director of Ardmuir Developments, Richard Thom, said that: “We are delighted to announce that Oglivie Construction has started work on the hotel, which will be a valuable addition to the accommodation choices available for visitors to the city.

“It’s been a prosperous year for tourism in Inverness and we hope the new development will provide a welcome boost to the economy.”

Internet Bingo players can avoid disappointment of their bingo halls being knocked down as they are online! For some of the best bingo rooms check out Moon Bingo and Red Bus Bingo!

Related bingo news:

Use online bingo winnings to become blushing beauty!

Victoria — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 09:53:03 +0000

The best way to use your bingo winnings this autumn is to fight the cold and frost by still looking ravishing.

All the falling leaves and morning frost has confirmed for everyone that autumn/winter is really here. While this means that your bingo roomies will have to exchange their flip-flops for Ugg boots and maxi dresses for jumper dresses, the cold air brings with it some brilliant bingo bonus treats for you to spend on winter woollies and make-up!

To look on trend whilst strutting your stuff along the highstreet a camel coloured coat is a must but blusher is one of the season’s make-up bag essentials, and even more so if you are very fair skinned.

Celebrity British make-up artist, Daniel Sandler, said that choosing a shade darker than your usual shade for the winter is the best technique to use.

“If you go for soft pink in the summer, use a hot pink in the winter. If you use a soft peach blusher in the summer, then again use a little bit more of a brighter peach colour,” he advised.

Founder of Daniel Sandler cosmetics is not the only fan of blusher. Recently the singer LuLu told the Daily Telegraph that she uses blusher to warm up her complexion.

He added: “In the winter you can really play it up with some soft smoky eyes and red or plumy-purple lipstick.”

However, before going out to buy a new blusher, make sure that your skin is in good condition. Because of the cold air and harsh winds, skin tends to get very dry during the winter so moisturising is essential both in the morning and before you go to sleep. You can even add a small dollop of moisturiser to your favourite foundation for further protection during the day.

“You can freshen the look of a complexion by using a foundation which has a slightly dewy finish that will make your skin slightly reflective and alive,” he said.

So, whilst you are sitting on your favourite online bingo site, maybe Red Bus Bingo or William Hill Bingo, think about how you are going to spend your winnings whilst watching the snow fall outside!

Related bingo news:

Closing Bingo Halls Boosts Online Playing

mabel — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 10:11:51 +0000

An industry expert has stated that the closing down of traditional bingo halls has helped boost the internet bingo industry.

This statement has come from the head of research at Global Betting and Gaming Consultants Lorien Pilling, who also believed that the smoking ban would result in many people would not carry out their favourite pastimes outside of their homes.

That is exactly why the bingo lovers have now moved across to online bingo as they can no longer smoke in bingo halls, but also that the online option is able to offer something that the bingo halls are unable to.

Lorien Pilling said: “People can do it from home and enjoy a cigarette whilst they’re playing online.”

The main benefits of online bingo is that it offers far more choice such as free bingo, bingo bonus’, and amazing give-aways including TV’s and holidays. This is particularly good considering the current economic climate, many bingo players love a freebie!

Although traditional bingo halls have benefits such as the social environment, numerous online bingo sites, such as Redbus Bingo and William Hill Bingo, have ensured that their sites also have that community feel to them. They are also beginning to take advantage of the social networking platforms Facebook and Twitter, which players can use during their bingo games.

Related bingo news:

Pensioners fall out over bingo win!

mabel — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:11:11 +0000

Who would have thought that bingo could tear apart a friendship? Best friends Muriel Harrison and Sandra Fowler-McAllister have been locked in a court battle over the win of £10,000.

The best friend have always split their winnings but after years of playing and winning together, Muriel has taken Sandra to court after she refused to split her big jackpot win. She was so angry that only court action seemed like an appropriate solution.

The duo used to eat and sleep bingo and after Sandra went back on their agreement, Muriel erupted in anger at the greed of her so-called friend. Mrs Harrison said: ‘She told me “I don’t feel I can give you half”. I said “What do you mean?” and she said “As you know I need the money more than you, you have got your own property”.

As a way of easing the guilt Sandra told the court that she did offer Muriel 20% of the winnings and that they had no agreement as to what would happen if they won quite a large amount. They had never won that much before, never thought they would win that much as so had never discussed what would happen.

The judge Francis Reeson dismissed Muriel’s claim stating that the women had an ad-hoc agreement that only worked when it suited them. He also stated that both women were simply putting forward a point of view and so it didn’t mean that either of them was lying.

The case has been dismissed although Muriel does plan on making an appeal.

Maybe now the ladies will prefer to use the numerous new bingo sites online such as RedBus Bingo and Virgin Bingo.

Related bingo news:

Help find the City Bingo Burglar!

Jaymac — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:27:58 +0000

A burglary took place in a Mecca Bingo club in Exeter and the police have been looking for him for days.
However, they have now released an image of the individual they believe will be able to help them with their investigation.

The man, named Darren Gibbons, is thought to have some kind of connection with the criminal act.

It has previously been reported that masked individuals raided the Bingo hall and are thought to have got their hands on thousands on pounds. This is not the kind of bingo bonus the employees and frequent users were hoping for!

Although the police have made an appeal and also asked witnesses and residents for any information what so ever, however it has been to no avail. The CCTV has also been reviewed and images have appeared showing 3 offenders, but their faces were covered by balaclavas and hoods.

The burglars are thought to have gained entry to the bingo hall in the early hours of Monday 23rd August by using keys and were also able to deactivate the security alarms. It took them approximately one hour breaking the locks on 32 gaming machines before leaving the scene with £4,500.

Since the incident the police have arrested four people in connection with the incident. However, they have been released on bail until November 10th.

The manager of said Mecca Bingo hall, Alan Forshaw, told the Echo that the club was helping the police with the investigation as much as possible. Naturally, the venue has been closed for a small period of time in order to clean up etc. but reopened only a few days later.

Maybe this is a sign that online bingo sites, including the likes of Paddy Power Bingo and Polo Bingo are safer?

Related bingo news:

Shares in Mecca Bingo rise

Gladys — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:06:08 +0000

Rank, the owner of Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casino chains, saw a 5 per cent jump in their shares on Thursday. The gaming group said that they expected its full year results to be at the top end of the market predictions and were ecstatic with the findings.

It has now emerged that their like-for-like sales rose 7 per cent in the three months leading up to 3rd October. The like-for-like revenues at Grosvenor Casinos came in even higher at 9 per cent in the same quarter and players on the company’s bingo clubs spent an extra 2 per cent whilst there.

Due to the increase in internet bingo sites getting individuals to actually leave the comfort of their own homes and enter a bingo hall has become exceptionally harder. However, Rank has experienced more customers entering its Mecca Bingo venues for the 1st time in over a decade within the first half of the year. However, year-on-year the number of visitors remained unchanged in the 3rd quarter.

Rank out their success down to their concentration on management capabilities when focusing on revitalising the troubled chain. There are now plans to expand the Mecca Full House concept from its four venues to six as it reopens halls in Dagenham and Southend-on-Sea this coming autumn.

It is worth checking out both Mecca Bingo halls and their online equivalent as well as others including Bingo playground and Bingo flash!

Related bingo news:

Man abandons 2year old to play Bingo!

Gladys — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 09:32:13 +0000

A Chinese father in Denia was arrested after leaving her 2year old little girl in the car for over an hour! The daughter was found in a poor state while her father was inside playing a game of Staurday afternoon bingo.

It was reported by the local media that the small child was discovered in a state of hyperventilation and that medical attention was definitely required. An SAMU ambulance arrived at the scene and the little one made a full recovery without needing any further medical treatment.

It has now been reported that the Police are looking for other family members that are able to take care of the child. However, it is unknown whether further action will be taken against the irresponsible father.

If the Chinese gentleman had of played online on sites like William Hill Bingo or USA Bingo, this would not have happened!

Related bingo news:

Bingo employee gets engaged during work!

Tom — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 09:28:01 +0000

Imagine going to work, it just being a normal day, and then you come home engaged! Well this is exactly what happened to one lucky Mecca Bingo club employee Shauna Crawshaw.

Shauna, who had turned 19 that day, had no idea that her boyfriend of seven months, Daniel Clamp, was planning to propose to her that day in front of at least 100 bingo players- now there’s a bingo bonus they didn’t expect.

The romantic gesture took place at Mecca Bingo club in Middleway Park, Burton. Daniel, a 21 year old who lives in Thorn Tree Lane, Newhall, decided that he wanted to propose in front of an audience and thought there was no better place to do it that at Shauna’s workplace.

He commented: “I thought that proposing to her at work would be quite special.”

Daniel had put some thought into how it was all going to work and spoke to Shauna’s manager, who agreed he could use the bingo hall microphone, usually used to call the numbers, to pop the question.

Miss Crawshaw, from Springfield Road in Swadlincote, added: “My manager told me to come over and told the caller to stop the game because Dan had something to say to me.

“Dan got up on the stage and said that he loved me and he wanted to marry me.”

Shauna then used to microphone to give her response which was obviously a yes!

The loved up couple then went out for a romantic celebration meal that same evening. The couple have not yet thought of setting a date but are enjoying the first stages of being newly engaged. However, they have said that it will be after Shauna has completed her beauty course at Burton College and Daniel has finished his sports development coaching degree.

Although you may not see such romantic gestures by playing online bingo, you can still get your bingo thrills at sites such as Posh Bingo and Eat Sleep Bingo.

Related bingo news:

Bingo – harder than it looks!

Victoria — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 09:40:25 +0000

It could be argued that bingo is not as easy to play as many people may think and people who wish to play the number spotting game should not assume it is!

This idea has come about after a successful blogger for the Sacramento News and Reviews found that the game was not as straightforward as they believed it was going to be. The blog was written due to the increased interest in bingo, indicated by the all the new bingo sites emerging across the internet.

The blogger, Cosmo Garvin, attended a popular bingo hall in California City to have a bash at the game and was very impressed by the speed and accuracy demonstrated by all the players.

“It takes some concentration to scan eight, 12 or 18 different bingo faces between calls,” the critic added.
Cosmo decided to attend a bingo hall, rather than playing on online sites such as Ruby Bingo and RedBus Bingo, so he could see other players in action.

The blogger also found that although the basic rules and principles still applied, the game had developed over the years. There were a number of variations that he simply did not expect. Instead of having single cards, people paid a set amount to get several “broadsheets of coloured paper” that had up to nine different faces on them.

Related bingo news:

Teaching maths with Bingo!

mabel — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:02:27 +0000

Now there is something young children will have in common with elderly pensioners all over the country – Bingo! And I’m not talking about the internet bingo sites.

Schools are introducing the number spotting game into their classrooms as an aid to help teach children vital math skills. However, they are also using variations of the game for other life skills such as reading, vocabulary, English, and foreign languages.

We all know what a standard bingo looks like, with clearly marked numbers that must be crossed out when the bingo caller randomly selected them. The first person to fully and correctly cross out a line or full house is the winner. The school version is slightly different.

In order to encourage students to do mental maths, the teacher will call out a mathematical equation and after working out the sum, the children cross off the correct answer on their bingo cards. All types of mental maths will be used to help students have a sound ability in all areas; these include basic subtraction, addition, multiplication and division to more complex math problems.

For subjects including English, the numbers are replaced with words to help students with spelling and understanding. Perhaps this is something the online sites, such as bingo playground and giggle bingo will experiment with!

Related bingo news:

Bingo Company to expand!

Gladys — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 09:51:01 +0000

Although many companies have been suffering through this current financial climate, this cannot be said for one business in the Bingo industry. In fact Seldis Cooper has managed to capitalise within this sector. Already owning 6 bingo clubs, 1 online bingo site and 1 of the largest bingo news sites in the world, but now a manufacturing retail operation is set to further expand its bingo operations.

Bingo has been kept as the company’s core theme throughout all its operations. They have been recently looking to obtain further internet bingo sites and has been involved in discussions about a site in Lincolnshire for a while now.

The operations manager, Dave Holt, stated that the retail and manufacturing operations had soured during the previous 12 months, with the main problem being how to cope with all the demand.

The owner of Seldis Cooper, Roger Cooper, commented “Over the last few years both the online and land based operations have exceeded our expectations and we feel that we are now able to further capitalise on some of the projects that we have undertaken in recent years.”

Mr Cooper was recently returned from the US after discussion regarding US bingo!

Related bingo news:

Bingo Session Saved by Local Business

Tom — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:55:40 +0000

The Salterbeck’s Oval Centre faced the prospect of losing its avid bingo fans, after the Cumbria Community Transport bus was burned out in an arson attack, much to the disappointment of the elderly residents.

The attack which took place last Monday would have seen the end of the pensioners being able to attend their favourite bingo game.

However, all is not lost. John Stobbart, a local business man from Workington, has come to the rescue and offered the group the use of his company minibus, enabling the local residents to travel to their bingo destination. As the elderly residents do not use internet bingo sites such as moon bingo or polo bingo, this was exactly what they needed!

Local residents Margaret Telford, 67 and Cath Wilson were really excited about the unexpected gesture. Margaret commented: “It is wonderful. For most of us this is the only time we get out of the house and we really enjoy it.” Cath added: “It is good of them to lend us the bus. It is the only afternoon I get out and we all like to go for the crack.”

Jennifer Birkett the Centre manager was also full of praise for kind gesture.: “We cannot thank Mr Stobbart enough.”

Related bingo news:

Joe McElderry loves Emmerdale as much as us!

mabel — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:40:44 +0000

Hit soap Emmerdale is being sponsored by Tombola Bingo, a pairing both sides are extremely happy about. Players are now able to win a visit to the set as an added bingo bonus!

However, it is not only Tombola Bingo players who are massive fans of the early evening soap. XFactor winner, Joe McElderry, is also a huge fan, so much so he forced a local radio station to arrange a trip to the Woolpack for him whilst he was in the area.

Popular Radio Aire DJs, JK and Joel, were lucky enough to secure an interview with the pop sensation who was on a tour promoting his new single, Ambitions. When Joe realised that he was right next door to the Emmerdale studio there was no way he was not visiting the set.

Six players will be as lucky as Joe, however they will not need connections in high places! All you need to do to entre is be a depositing player at the deposit bingo site and correctly answer three questions about the soap. Closing date for the entries is 7th October and the prize will be drawn Monday 18th October.

The lucky six winners will receive free travel to Leeds, learn about the history of Emmerdale and have a full tour of the interior set. Lunch will also be provided and the ITV studios and a trip to the actual village set will take place in the afternoon – plenty of chance to take pictures!

Related bingo news:

Couple jailed after attacking Bingo lover

Victoria — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:12:18 +0000

A young couple, expecting a child have been jailed after attacking a cancer patient in their local bingo hall.

Wife, Leona Gilson is due to give birth in two weeks to the child of her husband Stephen Simcock. However, this did not stop the couple assaulting Jeffrey Lear, who is currently in a relationship with Gilson’s mother.

Lear, who is not a fan of internet bingo, had received other threatening behaviour before the attack. The Crown Court in Stoke-on-Trent heard that Mr Lear had been receiving threatening text messages from the young couple November 25th.
On the following day, whilst at Gala Bingo, Lear received a phone call from his brother-in-law to say that a group of individuals, including Gilson, had been seen looking for him.

Philip Beardwell, prosecuting, said: “This caused him enough alarm to call the police. He went into the foyer to call the non-emergency number.”

As the call was being made the defendants, Gilson and Simcock, attacked Lear whilst the call was being made. He was pushed, punched and then kicked in the stomach area by pregnant Gilson, then punched in the head while holding car keys by Simcock. The attack left Mr Lear with some awful injuries including bruising to the thigh, causing compartment syndrome, which can lead to the death of tissue in the body.

Mr Lear had to undergo numerous operations to avoid having his leg amputated and now is still walking on crutches.
The couple, aged 37, both pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Lear on the day they were due to stand trial for causing him grievous bodily harm.

Stuart Muldoon, who represented Gilson, said: “There was an element of pre-meditation in terms of confrontation, but she did not expect it to go that far.”

It was stated that Gilson’s behaviour was due to the fact that she was worried about her mother being a victim of domestic violence. Miss Gilson also has a three year old little girl and should both defendants be to jail she will have to be cared for by her grandparents and the families accommodation will also be lost.

Nicholas Tatlow, representing Simcock, a plumber, said his client had not intended to use the keys as a weapon, but that they were in his hand because he had just got out of his car.

Judge Paul Glenn sentenced Simcock, of Rose Street, Northwood, to 30 weeks in prison, while Gilson, of the same address, received a 24-week sentence.

Mr Lear may now want to try enjoying bingo from his own home on sites such as 123Bingo or Eat Sleep Bingo.

Related bingo news:

Lottery winner nearly conned out of his winnings.

Jaymac — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 13:41:32 +0000

Imagine winning several million on the lottery – now imagine how you’d feel if you won and someone tried to cheat you out of this? That’s what happened to 72 year old pensioner Milledge McCassell who could have lost out on a massive $14 million win, but luckily enough he had his wits about him and managed to prevent the potentially very costly fraud.

It started when Mr McCassell took several lottery tickets to the Dynasty Deli and Grocery in Jamaica, Queens to see if he’d won anything. He went to a self-service station to check his tickets and was delighted when the words ‘BIG WINNER’ flashed up on the screen. He took the ticket to the deli clerk to find out how big his win was only to be told by the clerk; ‘Just a few dollars.’ He asked what the message on the screen had meant and was then told by the clerk that; ‘You didn’t give me a big winner ticket. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ He then told the grandfather that he had already thrown the ticket away.

Mr McCassell was not to be fobbed off so easily though and complained to the Lottery, who in turn contacted the police. Investigators went to the store to speak to the clerk who then managed to produce the winning ticket. He has now received his $14 million and commented; ‘I’m thrilled! It was quite an experience. I knew I was a big winner. I just didn’t know how much.’ He has still to decide how he will spend his win.

The manager of the Dynasty Deli, Taha Derhim al Saidi, said that the clerk no longer worked at the deli, but did say that the whole incident had been a misunderstanding. The police are not so convinced and have forwarded the case on to prosecutors who will investigate further.

If you want a reliable way to gamble online check out one of our newest rooms: Bingo Cove.

Related bingo news:

Bingo workers star in TV show.

Gladys — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 13:08:44 +0000

Three bingo workers from Hartlepool will soon be seen by TV viewers as they are to star in a new television series which will be running over the next 14 weeks. The lucky three, Helen Clark, Karl Greathead and Lynn Murphy, have been chosen for the programme which started on Sunday and is about the world of online bingo.

The show will be on Channel One, the entertainment station. It will be focusing on Crown Bingo which is one of the biggest independent online bingo companies in the UK, and will show the close-knit community of both staff and players. The three chosen workers are all chat room moderators who work from home, and they will be sharing some of their experiences with viewers.

29 year old Lynn has 2 children and has been employed by Crown Bingo for 2 years. She said; “I am really looking forward to being part of the TV series. It is something I never thought I would do, so to be given the opportunity is great. Karl said; “This will be my first time on TV so I hope I don’t look daft. Seriously though, I think sites like Crown have transformed the bingo experience.” 26 year old Helen is a mum of one and added; “I am extremely nervous about the start of the show. When they invited me to the studio, I didn’t even realise it was for a live TV show at first.”

Online bingo has become increasingly popular over recent years and it should be interesting to see what its really like working for a bingo company – we can’t wait to see the programme!

Related bingo news:

Star in new Mecca Bingo advert

Tom — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 09:47:51 +0000

From September 29th a brand spanking new advert for Mecca Bingo will be aired. The commercial is called ‘A Mecca Moment’ and will be hitting screens all over the UK over two different periods between now and Christmas. The first wave of adverts will be shown from 29th September until 12th October and the second wave will take place from 25th October until 7th November.

The ‘A Mecca Moment’ commercials focus on actual Mecca Bingo players relaying their own Mecca moments, whether they are about winning, what they have done with their winnings or what they have always dreamed of doing if they ever win. The commercials promise to feature some lovable characters and will be well worth watching.

Running in conjunction with the advertisements will be a social media campaign which will include a variety of social media platforms including Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. Mecca Bingo are hoping that players who did not manage to get involved in the commercials will upload their own Mecca moments. Of course there will also be an incentive of a bingo bonus. By uploading their moments, players will be able to win £50 online free play and £50 cinema vouchers will also be given to the most popular Mecca moments.

By adding the social media elements to the advertising campaign, Mecca are encouraging their players to interact with each other but also the help build an even stronger brand awareness.

The world of bingo has been launching some brilliant advertising campaigns recently. Bet365 Bingo have released a new commercial and of course there is the Queen of Bingo advert starring the legendary Barbara Windsor for JackpotJoy. Let’s hope Mecca Bingo’s new advert can enjoy the same success!

Related bingo news:

Kenneth – The Bingo King!

mabel — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:23:19 +0000

Scottish born Kenneth Crosbie has won himself a starring role in a new national TV series which is aired on the weekend.
Kenneth from Lochside works as a housing support officer and was chosen to star in the new Sunday evening programme which focuses on the rapidly-growing craze of online bingo.

The lifestyle show began last Sunday at 7.30pm on the entertainment channel, Channel One, which has been rebranded and launched by Sky after they acquired it from Virgin.

The focus of the programme is to be one of the biggest independent internet bingo companies in the UK and the close knit community of players and staff. Kenneth, a very keen online bingo player, was selected from thousands of Crown Bingo customers to film sections of the show in Newcastle earlier in September.

Mr Crosbie said “I was really surprised to get an invite to take part in the show but the filming on the day was a whole lot of fun – it’s not every day you get to be on TV.

The series will explore how companies such as Crown Bingo have totally transformed the world of bingo by transferring it to the online world. There are not numerous websites including Bet365 Bingo and Posh Bingo that allows people to play whenever they want. The focus will be on the general public are increasingly logging onto these sites instead of walking into bingo halls.

“I’ve been playing online bingo on and off now for about two years.The highlights have been a couple of big house wins of £350 and £250 but winning a line or two still gives me a thrill.”

Related bingo news:

Bingo! The Musical

Victoria — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:34:02 +0000

You’ve heard of bingo hall rooms, bingo board games and internet bingo websites but have you heard of ‘Bingo! The Musical’?

Well from September 23rd – October 10th lucky Australian Bingo fans are going to be treated to this new, witty musical comedy about a colourful group of avid Bingo players and friends. The evening dinner and a show is only costing guests $36, a small price to pay to watch characters Vern, Honey and Patsy are forced to confront their pasts by a bingo hall stranger. The three protagonists won’t forsake their weekly bingo game, even in the midst of a terrible tornado!

‘Bingo! The Musical’ has been produced by Pantseat Productions, who are also responsible for ‘Ruby Moon’, ‘Lucky Stiff’ and ‘Once On This Island’. Director Daniel Kavanagh, works well with musical director Robert Copas making this production a comedy masterpiece.

This side-splitting show contains brilliant songs and music, with a fabulous storyline that engages the audience from start to finish.

But, this is also a musical with a bingo bonus. Throughout the performance the audience will play three games of bingo, with a prize for every winner!

Related bingo news:

RedBus Bingo Sponsors All Star Family Fortunes!

Tom — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:36:15 +0000

RedBus Bingo is the new sponsors of the hit ITV show All Star Family Fortunes. The online poker site aired indents from the 18th September and will be seen every Saturday at 7pm showing two family teams competing to win a bingo game whilst on a red bus going around London at the start and end of every episode.

The bumpers have been based around the concept of the prime time TV show, which has previously featured stars such as Eastender’s red head Patsy Palmer and pop star Gareth Gates to name a couple. There will be six indents in total, featuring two family teams spotting numbers on passing buses to then check them off their bingo cards. The setting for these indents was red London buses driving around areas including Camden, capturing popular tourist attractions such as Big Ben and the London eye.

The sponsorship, which will last until Christmas 2010, is a perfect match. Both All Star Family Fortunes and RedBus Bingo share the same values of a fun-filled games being played in a family environment.

RedBus Bingo is one of the top 4 in the Joy of Bingo group. It not only supplies exciting games but also provides brilliant offers and promotions. Additionally, RedBus Bingo hosts networked games such as the popular Joy Pot games, which will be played next at Wink Bingo. The massive £10K Risk-free game is the most recent networked game to be played here. Running from the 14th – 17th of September registered players will play penny bingo games and all four networked sites are able to get 100% cash-back on their losses.

Related bingo news:

Lunchtime Bingo For Gala Lovers

Victoria — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:02:20 +0000

For the first time ever Gala TV viewers were able to swap their baps for bingo as Gala TV will be broadcasted their interactive game live at lunchtimes from 6th – 11th September.

Bingo fanatics could switch on Gala TV shown by Sky and Freesat channel 861, or click onto their website to enjoy 16 exciting games, such as BOGOF, Tasty Two and Crescendo. During this five day period, all winners of Crescendo games shall be entered into a daily draw with the chance to win a £5,000 make-over package.

Gala TV manager, Kevin Loman, said: “We think two jam-packed hours of interactive bingo-tainment with 16 fantastic games offering big prizes and thrilling daily draws, are going to be really popular with our players.”

Adding even more excitement into the mix was popular chat moderator Kenny. Gala TV invited him along with all the other favourite Gala TV presenters to chat with players live to keep the broadcasting fresh and lively at all times.

Chat moderator, Kenny said: “It’s going to be a real treat for bingo fans that the show will be live at lunchtime this week. Even though I’ve been a chat moderator for a while, I’m really excited about getting the chance to actually go into the studio and chat to players from there as they will be able to put my face to my name.”

Brought to you by London Bingo News.

Related bingo news:

Dispute over bingo win ends up in court.

mabel — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:00:40 +0000

People who regularly play bingo together sometimes make promises that if they get lucky they’ll share their winnings, but it doesn’t always work out that way, and in extreme cases can end up in court. This has happened several times in the past and has happened again recently, when a man who contested a £101,000 bingo win involving his mother lost the case. Malcolm Beresford was trying to claim the money from his mother’s friend, but instead has been left with a legal bill for

£55,000 and the danger that he may be forced to sell his house. Circuit Judge Robin Barratt QC said “the case should never have appeared in a court of law”. Mr Beresford alleged his 79 year old mother Shelagh and 90 year old Sally Bennett agreed to equally share any bingo winnings. For his case he used a press release from Gala Bingo which appeared in an article in the Worthing Herald in September 2006.

The article said that Sally promised to “stick to an agreement” to lshare the money with Shelagh. Mr Beresford therefore claimed he was entitled to half of the £101,000 which was won at the Gala Bingo club in Rowlands Road, Worthing on 30th August 2006. The 2 women had played bingo together for 7 years and lived together in warden-assisted flats situated quite close to the bingo club. The women died in March and April 2007, within 8 months of the bingo win.

The Judge acknowledged the article but said that this was an informal arrangement which meant the ladies would share money as and when it was needed. Apparently Mrs Bennett had offered Shelagh some of the money but she had refused it, and insisted that Sally should spend it on her grandchildren. The Judge said that Sally Bennett’s family were in more regular contact with the two women than Mr Beresford and so he placed greater faith in their evidence. He added; “I conclude this was a domestic arrangement between these two particular parties, which was about treating each other with the winnings of the pastime and activity they were engaged with and enjoyed. This was not an arrangement that should ever have come to a court of law.”

After the court ruling Mr Beresford said; “I’m devastated.”I’m now going to have to sell my house. I don’t understand why the judge didn’t mention the newspaper article – it was there in black and white.” He now has to pay £30,000 of the defendant’s legal bill which was approximately £56,000. He has also incurred his own expenses in bringing the case to court of around £25,000.

This situation has been seen in bingo and in lottery wins before and the best arrangement is to put any agreements in writing. It may not seem very friendly or trusting but can save tears and heartache later.

If you are sick of fighting battles with offline bingo rooms why not take a look at our i nternet bingo reviews?

Related bingo news:

New Social Network Bingo Site Launched.

Gladys — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 18:13:58 +0000

Newco Entertainment, the operator of the popular Moon Bingo, has decided to try and get a share of the market currently dominated by Twitter and Facebook and has launched a social networking style bingo site, Gossip Bingo. It will be powered by Dragonfish and will include celebrity news and an online magazine, as well as bingo games and instant win style side games. The site has been designed to interactwith Twitter and Facebook, which will mean that users of Gossip Bingo will be able to post their activity on these sites, which will hopefully also introduce it to new people.

The site was launched after a survey of more than 70,000 bingo players, carried out by Netboost Media, the company that promotes Gossip Bingo. The survey found that 75% read a gossip magazine or website every day and 80% are also members of Facebook. The decision was then taken to combine the different factors to produce a new site which would satisfy all needs and therefore make it more attractive.

The Chief Executive of Netboost Media, Adi Frum, said; “For the last ten months we have managed to acquire over 3,500 new depositors everymonth to Moon Bingo, the majority of which are based in the UK. I am confident we can more than double this number with Gossip Bingo.” These are big claims but not as large as sites such as Posh Bingo.

Related bingo news:

Bingo players share £250,000 jackpot?

adminlo — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:16:51 +0000

People go to bingo to win and are usually not too happy when someone else calls bingo first, but players at the Gala Bingo club in Hereford weren’t too upset when a player scooped the jackpot when they were told they’d be sharing in it.

The young female winner, who wants to stay anonymous, visited the club with her grandmother and mother and was delighted to call full house on the High 5 bingo game, which meant she’d won £10,000. She was then told the even better news that she had won the High 5 jackpot of £125,000, giving her a total win of £135,000. The unique High 5 jackpot game is really worth £250,000. The way it is set up is that the winner gets half of this and all other players in the club share the remaining half. On this particular night there were just 77 other players in the club so they all took home £1,623.

After her win the winner said; “I am in complete shock. It was a fantastic surprise, I can’t wait to treat my family and buy myself a new car! It was only my third time at Gala Bingo Hereford and I can definitely say it won’t be my last – I love it”

Related bingo news:

Bingo players hit by parking fines?.

mabel — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:38:01 +0000

Bingo players at the Empire Bingo Club in Blackburn Road, Accrington were upset to leave the club after an enjoyable night playing bingo to find that they had got parking tickets after parking behind a closed shop. The players, mainly pensioners, were hit by fines of £75 each.

The bingo club said it had an informal arrangement with the furniture shop, Furnimax, to use their car park as an overspill facility. They were therefore surprised when, on the busiest night of the week, their players received a total of £525 in fines, all issued at 8.30pm, well after the furniture shop had closed.

Furnimax said that Car Park Management, based in Accrington, were responsible for the fines but on this occasion have paid them on behalf of the bingo players. This is despite them having no control over the issue of fines as they do not owe the land but just lease it.

Stephen Bradley, the manager of Empire Bingo, said; “It’s clearly unfair. They chose the busiest night of the week, after people had gotten used to using it. We do appreciate Furnimax paying the fines, however it is not the first time the car park company have targeted us. It’s crazy.”

Mark Ruge at Furnimax confirmed that he did have an arrangement for bingo-goers to park after 7pm. He said; “We had no problem with parking at night but struggled with people parking in the day. We contacted the land-owner to see about car park management. Unfortunately, the firm they chose won’t keep to any select times. We let the bingo know this, but not all the customers were aware. We have paid the fines but people should know they can’t use the car park from now on.”

Derek Wolfenden, a bingo club member, said; “It did give some of the old age pensioners quite a fright. It’s clear they weren’t doing anything wrong.”

This seems like yet another reason to start playing internet bingo.

Related bingo news:

Gala Bingo club possible new mosque?

Jaymac — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 08:50:21 +0000

Former bingo clubs have been used in many ways over the last few years, and the majority of people prefer to see the old buildings retained and altered instead of being demolished. A former Gala Bingo club in Dudley is being discussed at the moment for a fairly novel new use – a new mosque.

The Dudley Muslim Association (DMA) is about to submit a planning application for a community centre and mosque in Hall Street. The council originally rejected these plans but they were then given the go ahead at an appeal hearing. Over 50,000 people signed several petitions against the plans, claiming that the building would look out of place in Dudley’s medieval centre. A High Court judge upheld the appeal decision.

The former Gala Bingo hall, which was once Dudley Hippodrome, was proposed as a possible compromise solution, which would satisfy both the Muslim leaders and the local residents. Councillor Anne Millward, the council leader, revealed that talks had taken place but unfortunately the DMA rejected the proposal and stated that they will pursue their original plan for their project to be situated in Hall Street. She added she was “disappointed” the DMA had not seriously considered the Gala Bingo site, adding: “I believed we were progressing quite well with the talks.” Dudley Council have been in discussions with the DMA for many months to reach a compromise that would keep both sides happy.

Khurshid Ahmed, the DMA Chairman, said that his members could no longer wait for a viable alternative from the council. He claimed ‘he has not got the support of the community’ for the change in site, which was the second alternative site that they have ‘ruled out.’ The DMA has outline planning permission for the community centre and mosque, which is expected to cost around £12million.

This post was brought to you by London Bingo News.

Related bingo news:

Mecca Bingo bans epileptic player

Jaymac — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 09:29:23 +0000

In a very controversial move Mecca Bingo has banned a woman from their Beeston club as she suffers from epilepsy. 27 year old Laura Richards claims she was told not to return to the club by members of the staff after she had a fit whilst playing bingo. The club say this is due to Health and Safety reasons although its a tricky stance to take, especially as the Disability Discrimination Act states it is against the law to refuse to provide a service to any disabled person which they would provide to any other member of the public.

Laura has played bingo since she was 18 and says; “I cannot drive or work because of my condition so bingo was my only way of socializing and I really loved it. Being banned is stopping me from really enjoying my life. The fact I cannot work or drive has already destroyed my life but not being able to attend bingo has left me feeling completely isolated. I have lots of friends at the club but unfortunately I cannot see them anymore.”
She has suffered from epilepsy since she was a baby and still suffers fits despite taking medication. She can go for a week without having one, though sometimes has fits three or four times a week.

Neil Tams, the manager at Beeston Mecca Bingo says that the ban is purely in Laura’s best interests. He said; “The safety of our customers and team members is our highest priority and with that in mind we have taken the decision to ban Laura Richards. Over the past months there have been several incidents with Laura when she’s visited and as a result of these incidents we spoke to Laura and told her she was welcome to visit us but only if she was accompanied by her carer. Laura has ignored our request and continued to visit alone. Events that have taken place during her last few visits have led us to believe that in visiting alone she poses a risk to herself and others.”

Staff at the club have called an ambulance on 3 separate occasions for Laura, although Laura says that she has never required treatment or been taken to hospital. By law a qualified first aider must always be present at bingo clubs. First aid training should deal with how to deal with epileptic fits, as well as other conditions such as asthma, heart attacks and strokes. Epilepsy is not an uncommon illness, more than 1 in 140 people suffer from epilepsy and with an average bingo club having approximately 2000 admissions a week this would mean each club has around 15 visits a week from people with epilepsy, although many people have their condition under control.

Louise Whalley, a spokesperson for Epilepsy Action said; “Although we cannot comment on individual cases, it is unacceptable for a bingo hall or any other establishment to discriminate against a person because of their epilepsy. Some people with epilepsy may feel more comfortable taking someone with them, but this is entirely the choice of the individual. Businesses that deal with the public should provide training for staff on epilepsy and what to do if a customer has a seizure.”

Until this measure is changed, she will have to rely on playing Internet bingo from home in order to get her fix of bingo games and socializing.

Related bingo news:

Bingo club raid unsuccessful

Victoria — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 09:16:45 +0000

A group of youths who decided to break into a bingo club soon realised that the task was far harder than they had anticipated after its reinforced windows and doors, CCTV and advanced alarm systems proved to be too tough a challenge.

A gang of 5 youths tried to break into the Majestic Bingo Club in Worcester by breaking a rear window. They soon discovered though that behind the window were metal bars which prevented them going any further. They then tried to get in through a fire exit door but this was reinforced so again they were stopped. The alarm system went off at the police station and a patrol car was sent to investigate. The gang fled when they saw the car but two were detained soon afterwards and were taken into custody.

The bingo club owners are checking the CCTV and are hopeful that the remaining three youths will also be caught. An un-named manager at the club said; “The company takes security within its bingo clubs very seriously and we are only to aware that given the recession and the proposed cutbacks attempts like this are going to happen more frequently. Would be robbers see bingo clubs as easy targets especially as many bingo clubs may be housed in older buildings or appear low tech from the outside. The majority of UK bingo clubs have reinforced doors, CCTV, police linked alarm systems and safes that are used in banks. Anyone attempting to break into a bingo club is asking to be locked up”.

We’re glad that on this occasion crime didn’t pay, and hope that the rest of the gang are soon caught and all are suitably punished.

Related bingo news:

Crown Bingo Sponsors Emmerdale

mabel — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:19:23 +0000

Many bingo sites have moved into the world of advertising on the television but to sponsor an actual programme is a much bigger step. At the moment Tombola sponsor ITV’s Emmerdale, and Crown Bingo have now announced that they will be sponsoring the ‘Live from Studio Five Programme’ as seen on Five TV.

The programme is broadcast every weekday at 6.25pm with Kate Walsh and Jayne Middlemiss fronting it. The four month sponsorship deal has been arranged by The Media Network, a TV advertising specialist who are based in Tyneside. As part of the deal material promoting the online bingo company will also be shown on Five’s online website.

Newcastle Marketing Services Dan Smyth, who deals with the marketing campaigns for Crown Bingo said; “We’re delighted to be sponsoring Five TV’s Live From Studio Five show and this follows a successful £500,000 summer Bingo TV campaign.”

Carl Phillipson a partner at The Media Network commented; “After ongoing negotiations, we were able to secure the sponsorship deal at a competitive price. It has been a great project to work on that will no doubt prove to be a highly successful profile platform for the company.”

Related bingo news:

Online gaming banned in South Africa

Jaymac — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:15:11 +0000

Many countries have been cracking down on online gambling including Internet bingo recently and South Africa has now been added to the list after an announcement that there will be either 10 years in prison or a R10 million fine for online casinos, individuals (including banks who process payments for online gamblers and internet service providers) and individuals who gamble online.

The Gauteng Gambling Board has been fighting against online casinos for some time now and has now declared that it is illegal to gamble using digital products in South Africa. This follows a judgement from Judge NB Tuchten, from the North Gauteng High Court, on the jurisdiction of online gambling transactions announced on 20th August.

The decision effectively means that people who gamble online, as well as online operators who offer online gambling to South African residents for gain, will now be guilty of breaking the law. Internet service providers will also be held accountable for their actions as will any financial institutions who process betting transactions and payments to winners.
Even bodies such as television and radio stations, newspapers and advertising agencies could be liable to prosecution.

Lucky Lukhwareni, the head of legal services for the Gauteng Gambling Board said that online casinos are now liable to be prosecuted; “That’s why we approached the media to alert them of the judgement which makes online casino operations illegal, and if they continue we will have them arrested and fight for conviction.”

brings you the Latest bingo news

Related bingo news:

Bingo.com reaches settlement on name

Jaymac — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:22:30 +0000

One of the most famous names in bingo, Bingo.com, has now been purchased by Bingo.com. Bingo players at the site would have been surprised to hear that the Internet bingo site didn’t actually own their name which they have been using since 1999. It was actually owned by Bingo, Inc and an Asset Purchase Agreement which dated back to 18th January 1999, though has undergone a few amendments since, meant that the online bingo company had to pay Bingo, Inc 4% of their gross revenue up until 31st December 2098.

Recently though a decision was made to sell the domain name and so an independent valuation company, Evans & Evans, Inc were brought in to decide a fair value of the remaining Domain Name payments, taking into account current market conditions. The valuation ranged between $1.4 – $1.6 million, which was considered to be quite low by many interested onlookers.

An agreement was eventually reached for $900,000, which was paid in the form of shares in Bingo.com. This led to 6 million shares being transferred, at the rate of $0.15 per share. Bingo, Inc’s shareholding in Bingo.com has also increased to 29.6% of the 63,877,703 shares issued and outstanding.

Tarrnie Williams, the CEO of Bingo.com said; “The successful acquisition of the remaining Domain Name payments owing to Bingo, Inc., at a substantial discount to the independent valuation, is another step in simplifying the operations of Bingo.com and a further strengthening our Balance Sheet.”

Related bingo news:

Cozy Games and Mahjong Logic form partnership

mabel — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:30:16 +0000

It has just been announced that two online gaming providers, Mahjong Logic and Cozy Games such as Eat Sleep Bingo, are going to form a strategic partnership, which will result in them cross selling each others products. This will mean that Cozy Games, a leading bingo software provider, will provide the Mahjong Logic platform to its licensees, whilst Mahjong Logic will integrate Cozy Games bingo platform into its offering. At the moment work is being carried out to develop an integrated system.

Jonas Alm, the Mahjong Logic CEO, said; “We believe online bingo complements mahjong and the two games combined can offer any operator worldwide an added differentiating factor. We have seen the growth and success of Cozy Games over the years and are looking forward to a strong partnership with mutual benefits.”

Sreeram Vanga, Cozy Games managing director commented; “Cozy Games looks forward to establishing our brand worldwide and throughout Asia via games that are regionally popular. Mahjong is Asia’s most popular game and Mahjong Logic is the leader in the space. Both sales teams have come together to compliment and grow each other’s marketplace.”

Brought to you by London Bingo News

Related bingo news:

No dividend from 888

Jaymac — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:37:35 +0000

Shareholders in 888 may be feeling a bit disappointed at the moment with the news that the gaming giant has decided not to pay any dividend. This follows on from the poor results from the first half of the year, when profits fell by over 50%. This was partly attributed to the general economic crisis in Europe, along with the World Cup, but either way the company has decided to scrap it’s planned dividend payment in order to save some cash.

Pre-tax profits fell to $4.29 million, which amounted to a drop of 56%. This was largely from the poker side of 888, which was said to be the division most affected by the World Cup. This was despite 888 spending 35% extra on advertising, though they did see a 10% increase in operating income, which rose to $130.2 million.

Gigi Levy, the Chief Executive said; “Our business experienced a difficult first half against the backdrop of a challenging economic environment.” Due to this the board had decided not to pay any interim dividend but will instead invest the money in acquistions, to help the company grow even more.

Each different division in the gaming giant experienced different results. Bingo was the shining star as it’s revenue jumped from $5.1 million to an impressive $23.5 million. This division has several of the most popular online bingo sites around which helped, such as Wink Bingo and Foxy Bingo. Income from the casino saw a 6% increase to $59.3 million. On the other hand poker revenue fell to $19.6 million, down from $26.2 million.

Various city investors have expressed their concern with the performance of 888. Nick Batram of KBC Peel Hunt said; “Our view remains that the inherent value within 888 is greater than the current share price. The problem is realising that value, which is reliant either on management rebuilding credibility or a transforming deal.”

However Mr Levy seems to be confident that 888 will stay on target and meet full year earnings. It’s still early days yet, and we’ll be very interested in seeing what the next financial report says.

Brought to you by London Bingo News

Related bingo news:

Mecca Bingo expand in Southend

Gladys — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:52:43 +0000

Mecca Bingo has pleased a lot of people with its announcement that it is going to invest £1.5 million in it’s already popular Southend bingo club. The plans for the club in Greyhound Way include a new outside seated area, an upgrade for the restaurant and bar and better toilet facilities. The upgrade will also mean 16 new jobs will be created.

Ian Robertson, the Southend Councillor for Enterprise was very pleased to hear the news, especially with the fact that both full-time and part-time jobs will be created. He said; “Any increase in employment for Southend is always welcome. Particularly the kind of jobs they are creating that provide all year round employment. They are much more valuable than summer jobs. It is good for Southend and good for unemployed people too. We are always desperately trying to get more and more people to come into Southend and this is a good start.”

Bingo players at the Mecca Bingo club, some of whom have been playing for several years at this old and online bingo sites, were also pleased to hear of the plans. 84 year old Margaret Murphy has been a regular at the club since 1992, when it first opened, and commented; “At the moment it is all up in the air. But they reckon we are going to have super loos and this outside area with tables. The restaurant is going to be upgraded and we are going to have a nice bar. It is social, I have got quite a few friends there. On your birthday they send you a card and I get my main session free, I get a drink at the bar and I can bring home a bottle of bubbly.”

At the moment she visits the Mecca Bingo club twice a week, but may go more depending on how the new improvements turn out.

It’s always good to hear about a club that does look after its players, and the new improvements are eagerly awaited by the regulars as they can only improve the club. In these times where many bingo companies seem to be cutting back on things it’s good to hear of one that believes in the old saying – you have to speculate to accumulate.

Bringing you the latest bingo news

Related bingo news:

Gala TV gives dream anniversary holiday

Victoria — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:28:35 +0000

A Maidstone postwoman is about to celebrate her first wedding anniversary in style after winning a dream holiday to Egypt worth more than £1,000 on popular interactive bingo channel Gala TV.

36 year old Samantha Pickard tuned into Gala TV which is web-streamed on galabingo.com and broadcast on Sky and Freesat channel 861. Soon after who won £200, but better news was to come a week later when she found out that thanks to Gala TV’s special summer holiday giveaway she had also won a fabulous 5-star holiday to Sharm el Sheikh.

Samantha said: “I didn’t even know that I had won the holiday until Ben Hull, one of the presenters from Gala Bingo TV and the former Hollyoaks actor, popped into work to tell me the good news. I couldn’t believe it, it made my week! My husband and I saved for years for our dream wedding and honeymoon. It was wonderful, but this year we have had the holiday blues as we couldn’t afford to go away. I wanted to make our first anniversary really special and winning on Gala TV has made it perfect! We were ecstatic when we found out we’d won the trip to Egypt. I had been struggling to think of traditional, paper gift ideas to mark our first anniversary. Now thanks to Gala TV my problem is solved as I can give him a plane ticket!”

Kevin Loman, Gala TV manager, said; “We are thrilled that Samantha and her husband can celebrate their first anniversary in style. We have over 200,000 winners every year and its always fantastic to hear how they celebrate. We hope they have a lovely holiday.”

Bringing you the lastest bingo news

Related bingo news:

Online bingo addict jailed

Gladys — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:55:53 +0000

All gaming sites urge their players to gamble responsibly, and many often have details of organisations that can help if people are worried about their playing habits, but one person who let their urges overcome them has has just been jailed for a year.

45 year old Catherine Duff from Steeles Avenue, Hyde stole from her partner of 15 years, Carolyn Wilson. Duff started her crime spree in 2003 when she stole Abbey National, Halifax, MBNA and RMT credit cards and also an Argos store card from Miss Wilson. If that wasn’t bad enough she also arranged for a Sainsbury’s credit card in her partners name. All this took place whilst she was living at her house in Sale Road, Northern Moor, Wythenshawe. Miss Wilson was a shift worker, so whilst she slept Duff intercepted the mail to conceal her fraudulent activities. Four years later though a bill was sent to Miss Wilson’s daughter by mistake. She then persuaded her mother to get a credit report, which revealed the thefts.

Despite this Miss Wilson allowed Duff to stay at her home for another 18 months as she promised to back back the stolen money. This good deed though was not repaid as Duff then took out a £30,000 loan, posing as Miss Wilson. £17,000 of this she did use to pay back some of her debts, but the rest she spent on herself, with some going on her bingo online addiction. When this was discovered Miss Wilson threw Duff out and called the police.

At Manchester Crown Court Duff was jailed for a year after admitting to eight charges of theft and fraud. Miss Wilson has been left with debts of £53,286 and said; “I thought our relationship was built on trust and love. If Catherine was in trouble with gambling she should have told me instead of going behind my back and using my property to feed her habit. I feel sick to the stomach that someone I loved and brought into my family should do this. It’s caused me and my family enormous stress and I have got to sort this mess out.”

Rebecca Tanner, defending, stated; “The debts spiral out of control. While they have spiralled the defendant is continually trying to rectify the situation by betting small amounts of money in the hope she will be able to pay the monies back.”

Judge Robert Atherton summed up the case by saying; “Even with your previously good character and the plea of guilty, these circumstances are so serious only a prison sentence can be imposed.”

Miss Wilson will be trying to claim some money back from the various credit card companies, and it has been rumoured she may try to get some back from the Internet bingo sites that Catherine Duff gambled with.

Brought to you by London Bingo News

Related bingo news:

Rank has great results and plans to expand

mabel — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:36:02 +0000

he Rank Group are already one of the biggest land based bingo online, bingo halls and casino operators in Europe but they are certainly not resting on their laurels. They have just released their financial results for the first half of the year, and 2010 has proved to be better than the first half of 2009. They made £25.1 million profit before tax, compared to the £24.7 which they made last year.

The group has more than 100 bingo clubs in the UK, as well as 35 casinos. They have seen an increase in the number of visitors and players – their Mecca Bingo clubs and Grosvenor Casinos attract both general visitors as well as the all-important regular players.

The figures show that customer numbers for the first half of 2010 increased by almost 12% to over 2.5 million, and the average spend per visit also increased by 1.5% to £22.50.

said;, “All of our businesses have achieved growth in revenue as a result of increased numbers of customers and customer visits.”

He has also suggested that they may investigate the possibility of opening a casino in Newham, which was the very first borough to win a government casino licence as part of the 2005 Gambling Act. This ties in with the news that they are planning to spend £500 million over the next 2 years on the purchase of 5 new casinos and 5 other gambling venues.

Brought to you by London Bingo News

Related bingo news:

MP fights against unfair bingo tax

Jaymac — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:32:03 +0000

Many people in the bingo industry have been fighting for some time in a bid to get the tax on bingo halls changed. The tax has been up and down over the last couple of years, but at the moment is set higher than tax for other forms of gambling which many people feel is unfair, especially in the current economic climate where every penny counts.

It’s always good to get high profile people to support any campaign, and in this case Brian Binley, the MP for Northampton South has joined in. He is opposing the high tax, which he believes is not fair as bingo is commonly seen as being one of the least dangerous types of gambling, and has referred to it as a ‘granny tax,’ referring to the fact that bingo players are often seen as being in the more mature age group, even though the average age has dropped over recent years.

Mr Binley told the Northampton Chronicle, “Bingo is one of the least damaging forms of gambling and yet it pays one of the highest rates of taxes. Most of the people who play bingo use it as an opportunity for social interaction. The previous Government created 24 hour casinos and wanted to place more of them in many of our large cities and towns, even though all the evidence suggested they were one of the most damaging forms of gambling. Yet they placed a granny tax on bingo enthusiasts.”

The Conservative MP recently paid a visit to a Beacon Bingo club in his local constituency to give him a taste of the whole bingo experience, and to see first hand how bingo halls are being affected by high taxation. To put things into perspective, bingo clubs currently pay a higher rate of tax than high street bookmakers. Whether he succeeds in his bid or not is another matter, but the fact that he has pledged his support is a positive factor. However, as the recent budget left this matter alone and made no tax changes hopes are not too high. It is a fight that will go on though in the hope that one day it will succeed.

Related bingo news:

Bingo club escapes fire

Jaymac — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:27:15 +0000

It’s bingo as usual for the Crown Bingo in Hudson Street, Tyne Dock, South Shields, despite the building having a lucky escape after fire ripped through the neighbouring buildings, destroying two of them.

One nearby resident said; “I was sitting in the garden when I saw lots of smoke coming from what I thought was the Metro station. I came running out with my phone, but as I did so, I could hear the fire engines. Then I saw the bingo hall on fire. Two fire engines turned up first, then another one turned up 20 minutes later. It’s such a shame what’s happened, as the people who own it are lovely.”

Although investigations have not been concluded it is believed that gas burners being used by workmen for weatherproofing work on the roof caused the fire. After the alarm was raised police were called and set up a cordon around the building. The road between Boldon Lane and Hudson Street were closed whilst four crews tackled the blaze, as there were concerns that there were canisters close by which could explode. The firemen had to chip away some of the roof so they could get water into the building, and spent nearly an hour fighting the fire.

Derek Chadkirk, the crew manager said; “There were two outbuildings adjoining the Internet bingo bonus hall where both of the roofs were on fire. Workmen had been doing some weatherproofing on the roof with gas burners and somehow it caught alight.”

During the blaze some damage was caused to the main building whilst the outbuildings were unfortunately destroyed. Luckily there were only a few people in the building when the fire broke out and no-one was injured, everyone having evacuated the building before the fire brigade arrived.

Peter Sutton, the Neighbourhood Inspector said; “Road closures were put in place as there were concerns they may have been inflammable canisters in a nearby building. At no point was the public in any danger.”

Tom Hearn has owned the building since 1961, and confirmed that the bingo club was operating as usual, and in fact there had been a session just after the fire was put out. He commented; “Since I have owned the building, there is never a time, that I can remember, we have ever closed. Not for anything. It is also the first major incident we have had here. The buildings have been devastated, but the bingo hall is fine. I have had a number of calls from people wondering whether we are open, and yes, we are open as usual.”

The 150 year old building was previously a British Rail school, built to provide education for the children of dock workers and British Rail staff who lived in some nearby cottages. It was closed for a short period and then re-opened as a cinema, before being used as a dance hall. The building has been used a bingo club since 1961, and hopefully will continue for a long time yet.

Related bingo news:

Bingo club closes in Wellingborough

Tom — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:15:18 +0000

It’s always sad to report the closure of a bingo club, although not too unusual in these difficult times. The latest casualty is the Lyric Bingo club in Wellingborough, which has been forced to close it’s doors after a combination of high overheads and low trading figures. We hope to see a new bingo sites come up from the ashes.

The club was in the town centre and was both owned and managed by Tony Wood, a former Gala bingo manager. Despite all his best efforts the overheads were just too much, especially the rent, business rates and the service charge. The closure will mean that the 12 staff members will now be looking for new jobs and many bingo players will be looking for a new club.

Tony Wood has been in charge of the club for 3 years, before that the Lyric was owned and operated by John Wiley and Brent Harding. It is unlikely that the club will re-open, as small clubs like this only have a slim potential profit margin so are not sought after by the large operators. There are not many owner operators around, and anyone thinking about entering the market will probably be put off once they realise that a new licence is quite expensive.

Tony Wood wrote on the Lyric website; “Sad to say, the days of Bingo in Wellingborough have come to an end. I would like to say thank you to all the staff who have kept the club together over the last three years. Barbi has been there 22 years, so for her this has come as shock, but not unexpected”.

Related bingo news:

Cricket Match for Charity hosted by Gala Bingo

Jaymac — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:23:17 +0000

Several bingo sites have been fundraising for different charities over the last few years, and at the moment Gala Bingo is raising money for Sue Ryder Care. On Friday 20th August it’s the turn of Gala Bingo Woking to hold an event, and they will be hosting a charity cricket match to bring in some money.

The match will take place at Plough Lane, Wallington, with 40 employees taking part, and all of the money raised will go to Sue Ryder Care to help them continue to provide four million hours of care to people living with long-term conditions such as stroke, brain injury, cancer, dementia, Huntington’s disease, Motor Neurone disease and Parkinson’s disease.

They are hoping to attract as many spectators as possible to watch the game and join in the fun. There will also be a grand draw which people can take part in, with the chance to win some fantastic prizes including a Surrey County Cricket Club bat which has been personally signed by Alec Stewart, a former England captain.

Gala Bingo, part of the Gala-Coral Group and operate both live UK bingo clubs and an Internet bingo site, chose Sue Ryder Care as their group charity in July 2008, after an employee vote gave them overwhelming support. The group has pledged to raise £1.5 million by the end of 2010 by carrying out many different fundraising activities.

The General Manager of Gala Bingo in Woking, Graham Freemantle said; “We’re really looking forward to the day as it’s a great way to get employees from across the Group together while raising money for such a good cause. While it will be great fun, no doubt there will be a lot of friendly rivalry to win the title.”

Gabriela Potworowska, the Area Fundraising Manager for Sue Ryder Care, commented; “A charity cricket match is a fantastic way to get everyone involved to make the most of our summer and raise money for Sue Ryder Care. The organisation that has gone into the day will ensure that everyone will have a great time. We can not thank Gala Bingo in Woking enough for their ongoing generous support.”

Related bingo news:

Halifax is home to new bingo club

Victoria — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:46:08 +0000

Halifax is about to gain a new bingo club, amongst other amenites, in a new redevelopment of Broad Street, which is said to be in the region of £50 million.

The project was originally mentioned 16 years ago but was never started due to ongoing issues. These have now been resolved though and the development, to be built by Marshall Construction of Elland, is due to be completed next year.

The entire project, as well as the new bingo hall, will also have a bowling alley, a multi-screen cinema, a hotel, cafes and restaurants. It has not yet been confirmed which bingo operator will be behind the new club, although in the present economic climate it is only Mecca Bingo who have undertaken a new build. UK bingo operators Top Ten Bingo and Gala have ongoing financial issues which would indicate that they won’t be the operators, and other bingo operators such as Seldis Cooper may be expanding but so far have not shown any interest in new builds.

Related bingo news:

Campaigners continue fight for former bingo hall

mabel — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 11:41:46 +0000

Campaigners trying to convert a former bingo club into a cinema have had a boost when the Kingsway International Christian Centre confirmed that they will not be appealing against the decision by Bromley Council to refuse their planning application.

The Picture Palace Campaign group have been fighting for over a year to try and get their dream fulfilled, and although pleased with how things are going admit that there is still a lot to do. They have been fighting to get something which would help local residents in terms of revenue and jobs, after the area was badly hit by the closure of the former Gala Bingo club.

The head of the campaign group, Annabel Sidney, said; “The 7,000 local people who signed our petition in the autumn still want 25 Church Road to be used as a cinema. We believe this would be by far the best outcome for residents and traders. We need to continue to raise funds to ensure the campaign stays in the public eye and to pay for legal advice on any proposals that come forward from the KICC. Together we shall do all we can to achieve our collective goal.” She added; “We will continue our discussions with local officials, councillors and MPs over the coming weeks, where we are exploring a number of strategies for getting a cinema back.”

There have been several fund-raising events recently; in the last week there was a cinema-themed outdoor tea party at the Grape and Grain at Crystal Palace and on July 17th there will be a campaign stall at Kingswood Primary School’s summer fair in Gipsy Road, West Norwood.

We have reported on this campaign before, and hopefully one day will be able to let you know it has come to a happy conclusion,

Related bingo news:

JD Wetherspoons buy Hippodrome Bingo

Gladys — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:28:19 +0000

The nationwide pub chain, JD Wetherspoons, have made a couple of recent announcements, one was the opening of their new pub in Whittlesey which has created 50 jobs, and the other is that they have acquired the site of the Hippodrome bingo club on Dartford Road, March, Cambridgeshire.

The ever expanding chain have just spent £1.2 million converting the former George and Star in Market Place, Whittlesey. This is a Grade II listed building and has been a famous landmark in the town for approximately 200 years.

On their latest acquisition though they not releasing details at the moment as they would need to submit a planning application to change it’s use to a pub, and this they have not confirmed so far.

The Hippodrome is a large building, with approximately 8000 square foot of floor space, and is situated on the March retail pitch. It has huge potential for development and to make things better there is a proposed college campus, due for completion this year, which will accommodate approximately 10,000 students. Unlike some places, which can have big parking problems, there is a public car park opposite the side of the building.

Mark Petrou, a co-owner of the Hippodrome, did not want to comment on the future of this UK bingo site. Him and his family previously ran the bingo club after purchasing it from Wisbech entrepreneur Norman Jacobs. The free of tie lease is believed to have come with a rental in the region of £55,000.

Related bingo news:

Paypal returns to internet gambling

mabel — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:30:59 +0000

There have been several interesting moves lately relating to the US online gambling saga, and one is the news that Paypal has begun to return to process payments for online bingo. This is seen by many as an indication that there will be regulated online gambling in America.

Going back several years Paypal was widely used by online gamblers, but this changed after Paypal was acquired by eBay in 2002. Soon after Paypal stopped processing payments due to the legal risks in the US. At the time this seemed to be a very cautious move, particularly as this was before the UIGEA. At the time the Wire Act was restricting payment processing for online gambling although in a low key way.

Recently though financial service, banking and credit card industries are becoming more vocal in their protests against the UIGEA’s restrictions and Paypal seems to be slowly re-entering the market. 32Red and Ladbrokes bingo have recently started to allow payments by Paypal, which many believe is a sign that Paypal is making a return to the world of online gambling. Paypal can also be used on the Virgin gaming network and it is expected it will be used by an increasing number of online casinos.

At the end of the day we believe that a greater choice in payment methods for players can only be a good thing, and we’ll certainly be watching this situation with interest.

Brought to you by London Bingo News

Related bingo news:

Bingo hall becomes church

Tom — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:47:54 +0000

We have reported many times on how the decline in land based bingo has led to bingo clubs closing down and the buildings being used for new purposes, and in America, the bingo situation is no different.

Alabama has had a huge crackdown on gambling, leading to many empty bingo halls scattered around the state. One hall though is having a makeover at the moment and has become a church.

James Gardner is the pastor of the Jasper Christian Center and was in the same building for more than 20 years. In this time his congregation grew and so he and his wife started to look for a new building. He said; “Most people in the community think it’s about bingo. But for us, it’s about revival. We started driving up and down the road. We saw a for rent sign on this one, so we leased it for a few years so we can grow.”

The church have been holding services for a few months and began whilst they were still painting and cleaning the building. “It’s a funny irony,” Gardner said. “We have people who say they’re no longer going to shout ‘Amen’ they’re just going to shout ‘bingo.’ We have people doing that. We’re glad bingo’s gone. We’re against it as a congregation. But this wasn’t about us defeating bingo, legislation and prayer did that before. We’re just here because it was an available building and we needed space.”

From the sounds of things, the congregation objects to the community spending money to play bingo. Opposing views to this line of thinking clearly believe that it is our right to spend money on playing bingo games as we see fit.

Related bingo news:

Gala Coral Chief Executive Leaves Company

Jaymac — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:16:34 +0000

It’s time for a change at Gala Coral, the parent group of popular online bingo site Gala Bingo, as their Chief Executive, Dominic Harrison has left the group for pastures new.

Whilst the company looks for a new Chief Executive Neil Goulden, the Executive Chairman, will become Interim Chief Executive. He has been with the Group for 10 years and prior to his present position was Group Managing Director (Bingo and Casinos) 2001-2004 and then Group Chief Executive 2004-2008. He became Chairman in January 2009 and will revert to that role as soon as a new Chief Executive is appointed.

Dominic Harrison on the other hand joined Gala in 2004 and was appointed Gala Coral Chief Executive in October 2008. He will remain with the company until 1st October to ensure a smooth handover of the popular online bingo site.

Neil Goulden said “Dominic has played a big role in the development of the group over the last six years and we are grateful for his contribution. He leaves with our thanks and best wishes for the future”.

Dominic Harrison commented; “After six years with Gala Coral it is time to seek fresh challenges. I wish Neil and the rest of the team all the best as they take the company forward to the next phase in its development and ensure that it remains at the forefront of the sector.”

Related bingo news:

Islington Mecca Bingo Site at Risk

Tom — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:45:25 +0000

A former bingo club in Islington has been put on the ‘at risk’ register by English Heritage as, despite several promises, no work has been carried out in it during the last 3 years where it has stood empty.

The building is Grade II listed and used to be a Mecca Bingo club until it was closed in March 2007. It is currently owned by Evangelical Church Resurrection Manifestations who had promised to restore the historic building to its former glory. They blame Islington Council for the lack of work, saying they are dragging their heels over granting planning permission.

English Heritage grew concerned over the building and took the decision to place it on the register. Nigel Barker, the acting regional director for London said; ‘Something has got to happen. This is a very important building and certainly one of the greatest assets in the area. The building has been empty for some years and it’s deteriorating – particularly the interior. When the church first came up with their approach we were reasonably comfortable because they said they would let the community in and because the building wasn’t going to require many alterations. But we have had no clarity yet as to when they are going to do something and what the delay is. All we know is that there is no clear way forward.’ It has been suggested by English Heritage that if no work takes place the council may force the church to sell the building.

The building started life in September 1930 as Carlton Cinema. In 1972 it closed as a cinema and then re-opened as a bingo club. Mecca decided to close the club just before the smoking ban took place and the Christian group bought the building 6 months later, in September 2007, reportedly for $5million.

The company had big plans for the building – as well as returning it to it’s former glory they were going to include a conference centre, church and community venue. Behind the building they would erect a seven storey block of 44 flats. The total cost of the project was said to be approximately £18 million.

Islington Council granted permission regarding the conversion of the bingo club to a community venue and church but was still debating the block of flats, which the owner said was needed to fund the other works. However, there was an almost 2 year gap before the application was filed, so blame for the delay is down to both groups.

A spokesperson for the company commented: “We could go in tomorrow and convert it into a church. We have got enough funds for that. But we need the flats to fund the community project. By the council’s own rules, there is a time limit by which they have to give us a response. It’s gone way over that. It’s now going to an appeal hearing. The building has been lying derelict all this time. We are eager to put it to use.”

Owned by the Rank Group, Mecca Bingo is one of the largest UK bingo clubs. There are over 100 Mecca Bingo Clubs in the UK, which collectively has nearly 1 million club members on the books. Mecca Bingo’s owners additionally own and operate Rank Interactive, the Internet bingo site for Mecca Bingo, Grosvenor Casinos – a popular casino chain in Great Britain, and Spanish Casino chain Top Rank España.

Related bingo news:

J-Lo faces casino lawsuit

Jaymac — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:21:53 +0000

International superstar Jennifer Lopez has been told she may soon be facing a $40 million (£26.6 million) lawsuit over a cancelled engagement in Cyprus.

The singer/actress was due to perform at the opening night of the brand new Cratos Premium hotel complex in the north of Cyprus, situated in the Turkish-occupied area. The opening was scheduled for 24th July, which is the date of her 41st birthday and is also the 36th anniversary of the invasion. After this was announced though there was a outcry from several groups, including the Cyprus Action Network of America, which seemed to work. “After a full review of the relevant circumstances in Cyprus, it was the decision of her advisers to withdraw from the appearance,” read the statement on Lopez’s website. “Jennifer Lopez would never knowingly support any state, country, institution or regime that was associated with any form of human rights abuse.”

This decision however has not gone down well with the company that runs the hotel, who have threatened to sue her if she does not perform. Murat Bozoglu, the Chief Executive, said; “The contract has not been terminated. If she does not show up for the concert, we will begin a procedure in the courts to claim 35-40 million dollars in damages. The cancellation… is not covered by any clause in the contract she signed with us.”

Feza Firat, the PR spokesman for the $220 million resort believed that Lopez may have been misinformed about the situation in Cyprus. She has been “led to believe there [is] a war going on”, he said.

Cyprus is the home to numerous Internet bingo sites, including popular UK bingo sites Eat Sleep Bingo & and Bingo Playground, both of which are situated on the Cozy Games Platform.

Related bingo news:

City Council rejects money from bingo halls in Alabama.

Jaymac — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 09:08:12 +0000

Times are hard in many areas and most councils are busy coming up with new ways in which to boost their income. For any council to return money is very unusual, but that’s what has happened in Fairfield, Alabama, USA. The City Council has just returned cheques amounting to $10,700 to two US bingo hall operators as they claim they are owed more money.

Mayor Kenneth Coachman has said that Sparkle Bingo is the only hall in the town that has paid what it owes in June. Two other halls, Bingo Fantastic and J&B Games, only paid a percentage of their fees as they were both asked to close on June 4th. Therefore they do not see why they should pay the full amount, and so sent pro-rata cheques which they felt was fair.

Councilman Ves Marable has said that the Council wants the full amounts as required by the city’s ordinance. ‘That amount of money is an insult and is unacceptable’ he said of the 2 cheques. The council is presently owed approximately $450,000 in fees.

Related bingo news:

BT strike threat for online operators on hold

Gladys — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:47:54 +0000

There are many factors that affect online bingo. The economic climate is a major factor, as can be seen by the struggles faced by many operators at the moment, and the weather is another. One factor which would have had some impact may have been narrowly avoided however, and that is the possible strike by BT employees which has just been called off.

BT have not gone on strike for more than 20 years, and the rumoured one has been called off due to legal technicalities, the Communications Workers Union (CWU) confirmed. The strike, which would have happened next week, could have had an adverse affect on broadband and telephone lines, and any faults would have taken far longer than usual to be fixed. BT did state that they had contingency plans, although this is no guarantee of uninterrupted service. A large number of internet service providers (ISPs) lease their broadband lines from BT Wholesale, and depend on BT engineers to fix any faults and keep their networks running.

The CWU did confirm that a strike by BT engineers and call centre staff could have a “significant impact” on internet services throughout the UK. “Although BT might move call centre operations to other centres, it’s really on the engineering side of things that things will be felt most keenly. The biggest impact could be in fixing faults on exchanges or broadband lines – which would be on hold for the duration of a strike – and things that are scheduled to happen, such as laying new fibre or upgrading exchanges, wouldn’t happen.”

Although bingo clubs that play bingo would not be as severely affected they do rely on phone lines to run linked games. One bingo operator said; “If lines were to develop a fault we would have to review participation in link games, however generally bingo lines have many telephone and ISDN lines and as such, unless all lines are down, temporary measures can be taken.”

Related bingo news:

Ireland man killed on way home from bingo

Tom — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:54:44 +0000

A 66 year old man on his way home from playing bingo in Buncrana was killed in a horrific car crash on Sunday night, along with 7 young men. The two car collision took place on the Drumfree to Clonmany road, which has been the scene of other accidents in the past.

The late night accident occurred in County Donegal, approximately 15 miles from the Northern Ireland border, and involved men from 3 different parishes. 7 of the dead, all in their late teens and early twenties, were travelling in a Volkswagen Passat which is believed to have hit a Renault before crashing into the Toyota Corolla being driven by Hugh Friel from Clonmany. The driver of the Passat is in a critical condition in Letterkenny General Hospital.

Donegal senator Cecelia Keaveney said it was “an ordeal” for all of the families involved. “Because of the close-knit community it affects very, very many people in Inishowen particularly,” she said. “We have had so many fatalities on the roads over the past decades, for many families, this will reawaken the difficulties they faced. The immediate concern is for the families, but it will reawaken histories for many people as well.”

Brian Cowen, the Irish Prime Minister and Martin McGuinness, the Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister, were amongst those sending condolence messages.

Get the scoop on all the bingo halls and casinos in the UK, as well as the latest bingo promotions and new bingo site listings from http://www.LondonBingo.net/.

Related bingo news:

Manchester City footballer arrested for casino fight

Tom — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:04:48 +0000

Kelven Etuhu, the Manchester City midfielder, was arrested after a fight in a casino in Manchester which led to 3 people being injured. The 22 year old will answer bail next week after being held on suspicion of wounding.

The incident took place at the 235 casino in Manchester City Centre, where police were called to after receiving reports of a disturbance. Mr Etuhu and 27 year old Leonard Rico Richards from Longsight were arrested after a 23 year old woman and two men, aged 24 and 26, were taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary for treatment to injuries. Crown lawyers now have to decide if the men should be charged or not.

Mr Etuhu rose through the City’s Academy ranks, making his senior debut in September 2007. Towards the end of the 2007/08 season though he was loaned out to Leicester City following tough competition for places in the squad. He was unlucky enough to suffer a hamstring injury at the beginning of the 2008/09 season which took him out of the squad into after the New Year. He has been on loan to Cardiff since August, though he did return to Manchester City for treatment after suffering an ankle injury in December.

London Bingo brings you the scoop on UK bingo halls and casinos, as well as news on new bingo promotions & bonuses and Internet bingo happenings.

Related bingo news:

Bingo win in time to celebrate 21st birthday

Gladys — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:11:54 +0000

A 21st birthday is always an important one, but for one lucky person her near approaching birthday will be celebrated in style after she scooped a very handy £22,000 whilst enjoying a game of bingo.

The 20 year old was playing at the Opera Bingo Club in Penrith, and can consider herself quite lucky as she had only joined the club in January. She managed to call Full House on just 38 numbers, which meant that she won the National Bingo prize, hence the larger than usual jackpot. This is great news for bingo halls and internet bingo.

Ethel Nicholls, the Club Manager, said; “It is absolutely fabulous. Everybody started cheering and she was shaking. Everybody is delighted for her. We are getting a lot of younger players nowadays. We’ve had an exciting couple of weeks at the UK bingo club, as last Thursday we had a young lady win our monthly holiday game, a luxury four-star holiday for two.”

The winner has not been identified although it has been said that she lives in a nearby village. If you know someone who plays bingo, will be 21 in August, and is walking around with a bigger than usual smile then there’s a good chance you’ve found the lucky winner.

Related bingo news: