Bingo in AC

With the closing of the New Frontier, the last bingo room on the Las Vegas Strip was also shuttered. Casino bingo is definitely on the way out in Las Vegas, but it’s still going strong in Atlantic City. From the AC Press:

Sounding like a TV game show host, Jason Smida called out numbers while an audience of mostly gray-haired seniors listened intently and scanned their cards.

Groans rose from the packed Grand Cayman Ballroom at Trump Marina Hotel Casino when a few players disapproved of the numbers that flashed on a giant tote board on the wall. Others griped about Smida’s pace.

“He’s speeding up tonight,” one elderly woman complained.

“Yes, he’s going too fast,” a man replied.

“Perhaps he has a date tonight and wants to get out of here,” another man said.

Moments later, Smida called out “O-66” and a scream of “bingo” followed. The audience erupted in excitement as heads turned to find the lucky winner. “That’s a bingo,” Smida declared.

The winner pocketed $500. With that, the players cleared their cards to prepare for the next game. “I-28,” Smida announced in a Bob Barker-like voice as the action began again.

Similar scenes have been playing out for years at Atlantic City casinos. Bingo is used as a marketing tool to draw gamblers – in this case, mostly elderly ones – to the casinos in addition to the array of slot machines and gaming tables.

These games put the traditional bingo get-togethers sponsored by churches and firehouses to shame. More than a thousand players, for instance, cram Trump Marina’s ballroom for the weekly games, according to Smida, a special events coordinator who doubles as a bingo announcer.

“It’s usually a packed crowd,” Smida said. “It’s a very excitable group; very spunky, very outgoing. Most of the people are elderly, but they don’t act their age. They have a great sense of humor. Some of the stuff that comes out of their mouth is excellent.”

Some pranksters seem to revel in false alarms. Calling out “I-23” in one game, Smida was greeted with a shout of “Bingo” somewhere in the ballroom. Perhaps based on experience, Smida peered suspiciously into the audience and asked, “No good?” A man waved his arms to indicate it wasn’t a valid bingo after all. Some players smiled, while others shook their heads in disgust over the stunt. Smida resumed announcing the numbers and the buzz died down until a legitimate winner emerged minutes later.

One player, Ann Kohl, 87, of Maple Shade Township, Burlington County, said she comes to Trump Marina every week for bingo. Accompanying her on a recent night out was her niece, Dot Walters, who looks to be about 60 but joked that she is 39.

“I’ve played bingo at other places before. Those games just didn’t compare to the casinos. There is a lot more money here. And I like to win,” said Kohl, noting that she once took home a $1,000 prize.

Susan DiFabio, 75, of Mays Landing, makes bingo at Trump Marina a regular outing with a handful of friends.

“I love everything about it – the prizes, the excitement, the atmosphere,” DiFabio said. “This is so much better than playing bingo at the firehouses.”

Rita Schallus, 75, of Ventnor, who has been friends with DiFabio for more than 50 years, boasted that she once won $10,000 playing bingo at Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.

Churches, fire departments and charitable organizations that sponsor bingo games can’t possibly match the lucrative prizes offered by casinos. But in a concession to churches and firehalls, casinos do not directly compete with charitable groups because they don’t use bingo as a money-making enterprise. It costs nothing to play bingo in the casinos.

Rather, bingo is a marketing device to get gamblers in the door. High rollers and customers who hold casino loyalty cards are invited to play bingo. But once the bingo games are over, the casinos hope that those same customers also will bet at the slot machines and blackjack tables.

“This is just a promotion for us, much like bringing people in with a coupon or a meal discount,” said Marty Goldman, vice president of marketing for Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. “It’s an attraction to have people come to our property.”

Of the four Harrah’s Entertainment casinos in Atlantic City, only Bally’s operates bingo games. Goldman noted that Bally’s has a tradition of bingo. About 800 players crowd into the Bally’s grand ballroom for the weekly bingo sessions, with total prizes of $4,500 up for grabs.
How do the casinos spell excitement? B-I-N-G-O

There’s a bit of a disconnect in that article. According to the author, the casinos don’t compete with charitable bingo because they don’t make money on it, and because they don’t charge customers.

To my thinking, that makes them an even bigger competitor. If two theaters show the same movie but one charges admission and the other doesn’t, it’s easy to see who’s going to get more business. In fact, the “free” theater would probably put the “pay” theater out of business pretty soon–unless there was something better about the pay product.

It’s sort of a microcosm for the entire casino experience in Atlantic City, in a way.

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