Bingo a fun distraction at casinos

Where’s Grandma? Yea, where is Grandma?

She’s not in the kitchen baking cookies; she’s not even home; so where is she? Come to find out, she caught the casino shuttle bus; she’s off to try her luck at the game of chance – bingo.

The days of senior citizens sitting at home as Grandma used to, to bake to her heart’s content or sit in her favorite rocking chair crocheting or knitting have long since passed. Actually for that matter Grandpa isn’t off fishing or down in the basement fiddling in his workshop either. They’re not sitting in front of the TV watching their favorite programs. No, those days are a thing of the past since gambling has become a widespread recreational activity.

It’s not to say that the grandparents of today’s generation don’t bake, do crafts, woodworking or whatever strikes their fancy; it’s just that casinos have sprouted up offering bingo that pays high stakes. So now grandparents have more options to occupy their free time.

I’ve been playing bingo since the tiddily winks days using hard cards and then to sliding numbered hard cards to today’s throw away paper cards using daubers. Bingo used to be played predominately by older ladies and occasionally younger ones. I started playing in my early 20s.

There are some die-hard bingo players out there. I remember one time, my mom and I were setting up our cards and my mom began to stare at the row of troll dolls and religious statues sitting on the table. The owner of this collection abruptly snapped at my mom for staring at her good luck dolls and statues.

And more recently, while in the middle of a bingo game, one of the players collapsed to the floor. The EMTs came to assist the lady and took her out on a stretcher while bingo caller continued to call the numbers.

Now keep in mind when you get to be my age, we usually live on a fixed income and go about life a little bit slower – aches, pains and so forth. Well that doesn’t stop the true-blue bingo player. I’ve seen people pushing their walkers, being pushed in wheelchairs, carrying their oxygen packs and pulling their oxygen tanks behind them.

As for being on a fixed income; well that’s the beauty of bingo. Some of us save up and put aside our play money just so we can play on half-price days; same high pay outs but it’s less expensive to play. I might also add that the casino shuttle is free, you can’t beat that.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention bingo isn’t the only game of choice in a casino. Ah, the slot machines. Personally, I don’t like the slot machines because more times then not I lose; they break my heart along with my wallet, but my husband and many others love the slot machines. Come intermission, almost half the bingo players herd out into the casino to try their luck on the slot machines.

Last but not least, bingo isn’t for the faint of heart. A few weeks ago I was down to N41 for a $5,000 blackout. It was less then 40 numbers called and so the way I figured, I had a very good chance to win. As each number was called I fantasized how I would spend my winnings. Well, the air escaped my balloon quickly when on the 60th number bingo was called and it wasn’t me.

I was so disappointed but that’s the chance you take. After all bingo is a game of chance. There’s always next time and I’ll be there again, setting up my cards thinking all the ways I can spend my winnings.

In the meantime, it’s an interesting ride and I for one can’t think of a better way to relax, meet interesting people and just maybe yell bingo.