History Of A Bingo Addict

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Hey Bingo Addicts!!!
 

Want to know how I started playing Bingo?
 

Growing up I played Bingo at Bible Camp or helping out as a Camp Counselor at the YMCA with the kids playing with beans and paper cards. They were winning small treats and toys. It was always fun to play but I never gave Bingo much thought after high school. I mean you get older and you do other things in life. 


One day in 2004, my BFF Damitre called me and was like, “Hey let‘s try Bingo!” I was always down to do a little something on Friday nights so we went to $1 Bingo at a local bingo hall in Houston. We walked in and what use to be a grocery store. It was huge and there were a ton of people inside, even small children. After standing in line for seemed like an hour, we bought a $4 Paper Pack and searched for our seats. Most of the tables were completely full but there were two seats available at a table and one of the players said we could sit there. We told him we were new and he explained how Bingo works at this particular hall. Red showed us how to play and advised us to purchase coverall papers for $1 each. We had so much fun playing and joking with him and some of his friends. We didn’t win but it was something we enjoyed doing weekly especially since we were able to catch up on each other’s lives. We begin going every Friday night and we would invite friends and family. Everyone we invited always won a little something but for some reason we didn’t win anything until a few years later. We thought we were jinxed. We just kept going for the Chuck Burgers which are awesome. Finally one night years later we were daubing our papers and we actually won $500. We were so excited. A year later we won again. Both times we won, Red was there to cheer us on. There was so much going on between Bingo games but we never even bothered to ask about what all the other numbers were being called and contests were about.
 

I started working at another company and my schedule changed. My BFF had her second son and had to focus on her family, therefore we weren’t able to play as much any longer. Fast forward to 2014, my grandmother passed away and it was hard for me to deal with her passing. I was extremely tired of going home from work and just sitting in my house allowing my thoughts to take over and decided to find something to keep my mind busy. There was a Bingo Hall around the corner from my apartment. I passed this Bingo Hall every single day and never thought once to stop in and check it out. I worked late that day and was driving and decided to stop. I walked in and got in line to purchase my Bingo Packets and this lady was standing in line talking to everyone. She noticed me and said she had never seen me there before and asked me my name. I told her and she introduced herself as Stephanie. I purchased my packet and went and sat down at a table by myself. Stephanie walked past me and said good luck. I didn’t win that night but I loved the environment and it was good to take my mind off things.

I played on certain days of the week when I didn’t have any previous engagements and started talking to Stephanie more. She teased me about playing paper and not computers all the time but it didn’t matter, I loved daubing paper. I even bought a Bingo bag. I didn’t know anything about the computers aka tablets for Bingo. I won my first $750 on paper. After my big win Stephanie explained about Bingo Computers where there’s literally 66 bingo cards loaded into the tablet and it daubs everything for you. All you have to do is yell Bingo when it states to Touch Screen and Yell Bingo! After purchasing my first computer I was hooked. I was able to talk, check out how people played, check all my emails, and social media accounts.
 

I begin playing 4 nights a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays) Some of the players stated there was a Daytime Bingo Hall. I was immediately interested. I started playing daytime bingo on Saturdays and Sundays. I started learning the ins and outs of Bingo and monitored the crowds and weighed my options on how many computers to play or how many papers to play. It was an awesome experience and I developed relationships within the Bingo Community. A great friendship with my Bingo BFF Stephanie as well as my Bingo Brother Doc.
 

After a few months of playing die hard bingo I decided to try Pull Tabs as Bingo sometimes was hard to win. It’s basically based on luck. Pull Tabs were a different story because not everyone played Pull Tabs and your odds were better with pull tabs. I fell in love. I begin winning on pull tabs more than winning actual Bingos. A few other players including Stephanie and Doc kept telling me about another well known Bingo Hall not far from my apartment and advised me to try it on the nights that my normal Bingo Hall was closed. One of the Bingo Workers also said I would enjoy it as they play more pull tabs and the environment was totally different. He stated his brother, cousin, and best friend worked there and if I had any questions to ask them if things got confusing.
 

I in turn visited Big Tex Bingo and was hooked the first night I visited. The environment was a totally different environment than regular bingo. It wasn’t your grandmother’s bingo. It was a thrill to hear the caller run horse races and making jokes. It was a show, pure entertainment and I was there for it. The owner showed me one game that everyone was always so crazy about which was called the Mega Dab. This game was worth $1198 if you won both sides of the pull tab and it only had 4 numbers. I didn’t know you could win that much money other than in a Casino. He told me about the local charities that his bingo hall supported and it was just invigorating to know by me playing Bingo supported such great causes. 
 

I begin playing Bingo 7 Nights a week and played daytime on Saturdays and Sundays. Doc and I would strategize on how the week was planned. I don’t even know how we had actually had time for our real jobs. Everything was Bingo.  Local Bingo wasn’t enough as I wanted to experience Bingo in other cities and states. We were literally traveling to Bingo around the United States.
 

I lived and breathed Bingo. I would be at work thinking about my strategy for the night or the day. I planned my work schedule, family functions, and my personal vacations around Bingo Events. It became my addiction. I begin keeping track of my spending habits and winnings. I wanted to know where and how my money was being spent and was I at the point where I needed to call the 800 number. I needed to know did it make sense for me to buy an entire 50 stack of horses or should I buy 20. I wanted to know if any of it made sense. I educated myself on how pull tabs were created. I learned how they were manufactured, and depending on the amount of tickets were in a box, would it be easy to get a player or not. There were so many details in pull tabs or event tickets. I learned each box of pull tabs so I wouldn't have to spend as  much. It was something that I knew I would be invested in for a long time. I was a part of a community that was elite, chaotic, and interesting all at the same time. It was all so intoxicating. Bingo Players would ask me questions about pull tabs, bingo, and my strategies due to me winning so much. It didn’t matter where I played Bingo, I would win. I was addicted.

After investing so much time and energy in Bingo, I decided to log all my experiences in the Bingo Community and in turn Confessions Of A Bingo Addict was created.

I know this was a long read but now as Bingo Addicts you know my story and the history of how and why I’m a Bingo Addict. Follow me on my journey and share your experiences as we all play this wonderful game of Bingo.
 

 Thank you so much for being part of this community.