| Wisconsin Bingo Supply We Carry a Full Line of Bingo Supplies River Bend Shopping Center 7516 W. Oklahoma 414/327-5100 |
| Wisconsin Edition |
Pull tabs
Are there some rules?
Dear Aunt Bingo,
One of our local Bingo halls has started not showing what prizes are still
available for pull tabs, and for coin and 13 boards they are not showing how
many winning numbers have been signed up for. I understand that they are
trying to get people to buy tickets even if there is only one prize remaining,
but I don’t think it’s right to hide that information, as I think anyone buying
those tickets should have an idea of their odds of winning when they
purchase tickets.
Is there anything in the rules that requires them to disclose this information?
This one hall is the only place that does this. I have stopped buying them
because I may be purchasing a ticket that has absolutely no chance of
winning. —MMR, via e-mail
Dear MMR,
You are not the first player to voice such a concern. And I have sat in more
than a few Bingo halls with players grumbling that the management refuses
to introduce a new pull-tab series until a major portion of an old series has
been sold—regardless of how few prizes remain.
Between you and me, I kind of keep an eye on it myself, and if a series
seems to be played out, I’ll stop buying until a new series begins. That said, I’
ve been skunked a couple of times by not buying into pull tab series I
thought were done, only to see a $1,000 prize go to someone else. That
hurt!
I’m glad you appreciate that most halls are selling these pull tabs to make
money for charity, and of course would like to sell as many as possible
before starting a new series. I’m afraid I do not know what the laws are
governing sale of pull tabs: Maybe a hall must sell a percentage before it
can end it; maybe it can stop selling at any time.
But I suspect that all the hall is really doing is trying to do its best to make as
much money as possible from each series. After all, what sponsor wants to
give away thousands of dollars in prize money if people haven’t bought in
enough to fund the prizes? —Aunt Bingo
Dear Aunt Bingo,
I am one of the people that must use a machine to yell Bingo for me, as I
have paralyzed vocal chords.
I’m lucky enough to speak with just a whisper of a voice. I have enjoyed
Bingo since I was 8 years old (I am now 57), so I’m very glad someone came
up with this item. Also interesting is that I received it from my uncle’s friend
after he passed away. He had used it for many years due to having his voice
box removed.
When I win, many people look to see who is using this machine but quickly
look away when they see I have a tracheotomy in place. I usually just smile
and shrug my shoulders.
All the Bingo workers I have dealt with are more than pleasant and glad to
see I can still enjoy the game. I’ve only had one caller come down to see me
at intermission. He quickly realized I needed the machine and never said
anything about me using it. I only hope people stop and think what it would
mean to them if they could not do something they had enjoyed for many
years. —Judith H., via e-mail
Dear Judith,
Thank you for taking the time to write in and share your experience and
demonstrate why a device like this should be welcome in a Bingo hall. For
you it is clearly not a toy or gimmick to get attention; if you did not have the
electronic Bingo caller, you would not be able to enjoy the game.
When the other reader wrote in and told of her difficulty with the caller, all I
could think was: What planet is this caller from? Why would he ban a device
that a person needs if they are to be heard? Would he prefer she wave
colored flags or shoot a starter pistol? Good grief! —Aunt Bingo
Dear Aunt Bingo,
My wife and I play at local casinos in Las Vegas. We usually play one six-
pack each: We are not heavies, we play for the fun of it.
Anyway, the past few months we noticed the cards were different than
before. (New manufacturer maybe?) Before, we could at least get the
number called on three cards. Now we get the number called on two cards
only, sometimes one. My wife says that’s how they control winners, I am at a
loss. What is your take on this? —At A Loss, Las Vegas, Nevada, via e-
mail
Dear At A Loss,
I’m a bit at a loss regarding your question. As long as there are 24 numbers
on each of your cards and all the Bingo balls are in the chamber, then the
chance of getting a Bingo will be the same for everyone in the room.
The only thing I could see as a possible way to slow the game is to have lots
of the same numbers on lots of the cards in combinations that will get all
players close to a Bingo and everyone waiting for a different unique number.
But even then, there’s no controlling when that unique number would come
up, so I doubt that would work either.
But, when it comes to numbers, there are a lot of really clever people out
there who may know exactly what to do to combine numbers on Bingo cards
and control the pace of the game and the number of winners.
If anyone like that is out there reading this, let me know! —Aunt Bingo
Write to Aunt Bingo c/o the Bingo Bugle, P.O. Box 527, Vashon,
Washington 98070, or e-mail her at STENGL456@aol.com.
Are there some rules?
Dear Aunt Bingo,
One of our local Bingo halls has started not showing what prizes are still
available for pull tabs, and for coin and 13 boards they are not showing how
many winning numbers have been signed up for. I understand that they are
trying to get people to buy tickets even if there is only one prize remaining,
but I don’t think it’s right to hide that information, as I think anyone buying
those tickets should have an idea of their odds of winning when they
purchase tickets.
Is there anything in the rules that requires them to disclose this information?
This one hall is the only place that does this. I have stopped buying them
because I may be purchasing a ticket that has absolutely no chance of
winning. —MMR, via e-mail
Dear MMR,
You are not the first player to voice such a concern. And I have sat in more
than a few Bingo halls with players grumbling that the management refuses
to introduce a new pull-tab series until a major portion of an old series has
been sold—regardless of how few prizes remain.
Between you and me, I kind of keep an eye on it myself, and if a series
seems to be played out, I’ll stop buying until a new series begins. That said, I’
ve been skunked a couple of times by not buying into pull tab series I
thought were done, only to see a $1,000 prize go to someone else. That
hurt!
I’m glad you appreciate that most halls are selling these pull tabs to make
money for charity, and of course would like to sell as many as possible
before starting a new series. I’m afraid I do not know what the laws are
governing sale of pull tabs: Maybe a hall must sell a percentage before it
can end it; maybe it can stop selling at any time.
But I suspect that all the hall is really doing is trying to do its best to make as
much money as possible from each series. After all, what sponsor wants to
give away thousands of dollars in prize money if people haven’t bought in
enough to fund the prizes? —Aunt Bingo
Dear Aunt Bingo,
I am one of the people that must use a machine to yell Bingo for me, as I
have paralyzed vocal chords.
I’m lucky enough to speak with just a whisper of a voice. I have enjoyed
Bingo since I was 8 years old (I am now 57), so I’m very glad someone came
up with this item. Also interesting is that I received it from my uncle’s friend
after he passed away. He had used it for many years due to having his voice
box removed.
When I win, many people look to see who is using this machine but quickly
look away when they see I have a tracheotomy in place. I usually just smile
and shrug my shoulders.
All the Bingo workers I have dealt with are more than pleasant and glad to
see I can still enjoy the game. I’ve only had one caller come down to see me
at intermission. He quickly realized I needed the machine and never said
anything about me using it. I only hope people stop and think what it would
mean to them if they could not do something they had enjoyed for many
years. —Judith H., via e-mail
Dear Judith,
Thank you for taking the time to write in and share your experience and
demonstrate why a device like this should be welcome in a Bingo hall. For
you it is clearly not a toy or gimmick to get attention; if you did not have the
electronic Bingo caller, you would not be able to enjoy the game.
When the other reader wrote in and told of her difficulty with the caller, all I
could think was: What planet is this caller from? Why would he ban a device
that a person needs if they are to be heard? Would he prefer she wave
colored flags or shoot a starter pistol? Good grief! —Aunt Bingo
Dear Aunt Bingo,
My wife and I play at local casinos in Las Vegas. We usually play one six-
pack each: We are not heavies, we play for the fun of it.
Anyway, the past few months we noticed the cards were different than
before. (New manufacturer maybe?) Before, we could at least get the
number called on three cards. Now we get the number called on two cards
only, sometimes one. My wife says that’s how they control winners, I am at a
loss. What is your take on this? —At A Loss, Las Vegas, Nevada, via e-
Dear At A Loss,
I’m a bit at a loss regarding your question. As long as there are 24 numbers
on each of your cards and all the Bingo balls are in the chamber, then the
chance of getting a Bingo will be the same for everyone in the room.
The only thing I could see as a possible way to slow the game is to have lots
of the same numbers on lots of the cards in combinations that will get all
players close to a Bingo and everyone waiting for a different unique number.
But even then, there’s no controlling when that unique number would come
up, so I doubt that would work either.
But, when it comes to numbers, there are a lot of really clever people out
there who may know exactly what to do to combine numbers on Bingo cards
and control the pace of the game and the number of winners.
If anyone like that is out there reading this, let me know! —Aunt Bingo
Write to Aunt Bingo c/o the Bingo Bugle, P.O. Box 527, Vashon,
Washington 98070, or e-mail her at STENGL456@aol.com.