Civic chorus unveils bingo plaza The Hattiesburg Civic Chorus and Concert Association unveiled its working in the making today with the opening of a bingo plaza. Proceeds generated from the bingo hall will be used to promote and benefit the arts in Hattiesburg. “In our efforts to do better fundraising and to make more art activities available to the community, we are opening bingo to support the arts in the Pine Belt,” said its director.

Care worker stole to fund bingo trips A 38 year old supervisor with a care firm has been convicted of stealing thousands of pounds from elderly residents. The jury at court was told that T D had debts and made withdrawals from elderly residents' bank accounts. Money was used to pay for trips to bingo, and to play on slot machines.

High school students fulfill service requirements with bingo The young faces stand out on bingo night. Residents of the retirement community look forward to more activity than usual when South Hagerstown High School students help with the game. "The last time we were here, we had applause and a standing ovation," said junior Emily Forrester, a member of South High's National Honor Society and Key Club, the school's service organization. The young people spin the bingo wheel and call out the numbers or play along with the residents. "They like being visited. They're all really nice and it's fun," one student said.

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After the Smoke Cleared, Where Did All the Bingo Players Go? Banning smoking at charity bingo games may have health benefits, but it is proving harmful to earnings In Minnesota, which adopted a statewide ban on smoking in all indoor workplaces in October, revenue from all charity gambling dropped nearly 13 percent in the last quarter of 2007, compared to the same quarter the year before, according to state officials. More than half of the drop — the equivalent of about $100 million annually — was attributed to the new law, they said.

Sisters celebrate court bingo win Linda Kenny and Doreen Thomas The sisters said they were delighted with the judgment Two women who sued their sister for a share of a £50,000 bingo win have been awarded the money by a judge. Linda Kenny, 53, and Doreen Thomas, 57, took their sister Edna Sexton, 59, to court over a claim for a third each. A judge at Chester County Court ruled that Mrs Sexton had gone back on a 2005 oral agreement to share any winnings. He awarded each of the sisters £17,463 - their share with interest. However, the pair, from Runcorn, later claimed that Mrs Sexton had spent the cash.

Legislation would allow bigger bingo games, bigger prizes Church bingo nights potentially could offer high-stakes prizes under legislation that is drawing fire from Indian gaming groups and those concerned about the California's expanding gambling practices. The Catholic Church and other charities are backing the legislation that would allow players in multiple locations to join the same bingo game through an audio or video link. Larger numbers of players would make for larger prizes, up to 37 percent of a game's gross receipts. California now limits prizes to $250 per game.

Woman Charged With Stealing $17G of VFW Bingo Money A former treasurer who oversaw bingo games has been indicted on 97 counts of diverting funds and forgery. A grand jury charged Julie L. Weedman, 36, of Evarts, last week. Weedman is the former treasurer of the Ladies Auxiliary of Veterans of Foreign Wars Lodge 11139 in Middlesboro. The missing funds came to light in the fall of 2006, when a bank notified the charity's president, Patricia Howard, that a check bounced.

BABY AT BINGO IS LUCKY OMEN Most prospective parents might object to their child being regarded as an "omen", after the film exploits of a certain Damien. But for one bingo fan, the word proved slightly more positive recently, as she attempted to shock her daughter into labour. While the trick failed, National Bingo reveals that 44-year-old Tracey Firth instead landed in the money. Following a win at the Buckingham Bingo hall in Bradford, Tracey says of her daughter: "She was definitely my lucky omen." She adds that the £18,000 UK bingo jackpot is to be shared between herself and four others.

Man accused of stealing money from bingo parlor Heath Volk, 33, is accused of stealing $136,000 from the Bingo Palace in Grand Forks over a three-year period. The bingo parlor is operated by the North Dakota Association for the Disabled. NDAD President Ron Gibbens said Volk had been an employee for more than 14 years but was fired late last year after the theft allegations surfaced.

Man accused of stealing from bingo operation A Louisville man has been charged with taking money from a bingo operation run by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3636. Acting on a tip from a VFW post officer, the state Office of Charitable Gaming conducted an investigation and accused Terry Wayne Houtchens of taking more than $1,479 over several gaming sessions. If convicted, He faces from one to five years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine on each of the three counts.

New York laws taking effect Jan. 1 include the deregulation of free bingo.  Beginning in 2008, running a free bingo game at senior centers, schools, offices, schools and at home will no longer be a crime punishable by as much as a year in jail. Operators of low-stakes bingo games, in which there is no fee to play, will no longer be subject to licensing backed up by the misdemeanor. The licensing requirements still apply to anyone running bingo for profit or proceeds.

UK government pushes online gambling regulation to Americans Support for initiatives by the European Union Trade Commission in trying to persuade the US to drop the anti-online gambling law the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) have received a boost with the support of the UK government which has come out in favor of promoting regulation in the US over prohibition.

PAPHOS Municipality sense illegal cybercafés are luring young people to participate in illegal gambling online by converting their businesses into “mini-casinos” and allowing customers to play on illegal online betting machines. The cafes are luring young pupils of nearby schools to play on illegal gambling machines such as Fixed Odds Betting Terminals – computerized machines normally found in betting shops.

EU gaming companies saw their stock market value plunge in 2006 after the United States shut off their biggest market.  In May this year, after being defeated at the World Trade Organization, Washington took the rare step of withdrawing its WTO commitment to allow foreign firms into its gambling market.

Tourists seized for playing bingo Sarah Holland and Carla Harrison, both 25, were among a group of around 30 tourists playing bingo for a free drink at the bar in Altinkum, Turkey. They said they were unaware unlicensed gambling was illegal in Turkey, and were fined 117 Turkish Lira (£42) each. "We thought we were on Candid Camera until we were hustled into a van and taken to the police station", said Sarah.

Legionnaires donate bingo money Decatur Legionnaires know how to give away money, distributing $23,600 from their bingo fund. Burney said the money represents 51 percent of total proceeds from bingo, the percentage that the post is required to donate. “We all come together for a good cause,” said Morgan, as he and Jones dipped catfish into a boiling caldron. “We’re pleased to offer our services.”

Bingo player dies 11 days after bus accident Phylis McDonnell, 80, was making her way to the Majestic Bingo Hall, in Durham City, when she was struck by an Arriva single-decker. Mrs McDonnell was a regular and well-known bingo player. Last night, a spokeswoman for Arriva said: "We would like to express our condolences and our thoughts at this time are with the family of the lady."

Hundreds Of Thousands Stolen In L.I. Bingo Scam (video) It's an unlikely scam: Hundreds of thousands of dollars in bingo proceeds that are supposed to benefit the disabled, but instead vanish into someone's pockets.

Bingo is still BIG on Long Island (video) "It was definitely the smoking that killed us, said Janet Dowling, who for 10 years has managed Island Bingo in Farmingville, a commercial hall where charities rent space to hold weekly games. She said business dropped more than 35 percent after the ban.

Bingo for Books: Tavern regulars shell out for library It's bingo night at the Hilltop Tavern, where the bingo is free, the beer is cheap and the prizes are cool. And for a chaser, Judy L:undren offers people the chance to kick in a dollar or two for a worthy cause - an outreach program for families with newborn babies called Books for Babies. The Port Townsend Library is also going to donate some mugs and bags with the library logo.

Two sentenced in bingo conspiracy case Two men who operated a Garden City bingo game have been sentenced for conspiracy to defraud the IRS. Each sentenced to six months in prison and fined $30,000 and also ordered to spend nine months on home detention. Idaho law says that certain charities can run bingo and raffle games. But at least 20% of the gross profits must go to charity.

Bingo parlor robbed at gunpoint Employees of Shamrock Bingo parlor reported they were confronted at the door by two men wearing ski masks, gloves and dressed in dark clothing as the last customers were leaving the business early Saturday morning. The gunmen forced two employees and three customers back inside the business, bound their hands and proceeded to take an undetermined amount of money from the business and from the individuals.

'Double Taxation'  The UK's bingo companies have been lobbying government over its current 'double taxation' policy, in which they are charged VAT on the price players pay for each bingo game, while gross profit is also taxed. Operators are arguing that, while being inherently unfair, it puts the industry at a major disadvantage when competing with other forms of gaming.

Bingo is back. After a three-month scramble to obtain permits from the state, Edison Township's five senior citizens clubs have received permission to resume their weekly bingo games and 50/50 raffles. The Bonhamtown seniors didn't waste any time. They immediately started exchanging quarters for bingo cards, playing again for $2 prizes. "We hand out maybe $30 in $5 increments for our 50/50, so what are we taking in? Maybe $30 a week?" Eileen Davis, president of the Stelton club, complained about the need for permits.

Bingo the bitzer dog defied the odds and survived swimming through freezing waters and a night in the open before being found on Waiheke Island with a wag in his tail last night. He leapt off a boat – possibly to "chase some dolphins" – on Wednesday, one nautical mile offshore from Waiheke Island. Coastguard spokesman Jo Ottey said they "didn't hold much hope" for Bingo because of the very cold water temperature and choppy conditions. But Bingo did survive the sea and dragged himself up to the Man O War Vineyard where he collapsed at the door of the caretakers' house on the north east side of the island. Vineyard owner Odette Brown said caretakers heard a whimper at the back door and found Bingo "cold and a bit quivery, but in pretty good shape considering. He was an extremely lucky dog." Bingo was "a bit traumatized" since returning home.

Police Believe Bingo Hall Killer May Be In Norfolk / Chesapeake Area Police say the man who gunned down his estranged wife in the parking lot of a bingo hall in Edenton, North Carolina may be in Hampton Roads. Monday night James Earl Freeman shot and killed his wife outside of the American Legion Bingo Hall. He was last seen driving a white 1992 Plymouth Voyager mini van with North Carolina plates OBX-23130.

OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE FOR BINGO WINNER Completing a full house led to a five-figure win for the 65-year-old uk bingo fan who was first to fill her card at Reading's BJ's club in Gillette Way. "I was shaking like a leaf when I realised I had won," she told operating body National Bingo. "I jumped up and clapped my hands in the air!" the lucky punter added. For her husband, three children and five grandchildren, the money might be spent on a series of treats, as well as on new carpets for the winner herself, she said.

Cautionary Tale National bingo winner Karen Bryson has won £27,880 in compensation from her ex-partner after he broke a promise to give her a share of his house. Bryson claimed that Alex Bunce had offered her the property deal after she scooped a £103,247 national jackpot at her local bingo hall. The pair then spent the jackpot in under 12 months, on 'exotic holidays, a sports car and paying off credit card debts'. The couple had been seeing each other for six months before the win. Bryson, told the court they had met with a solicitor to change the title deeds to include her name. She said: "It all sounded so simple - I give him half the money and I get half the house. But the transfer of the title deeds never happened. There were always excuses as to why it hadn't gone through."

Jekyll-and-Hyde style CHAD BRIGGS STUDIED film at the University of Texas in Austin and sketch writing at Second City. He’s trying to make it as a stand-up, but for now he pays his bills as a clerical assistant in the accounting department of a local law firm. Durwood Wilkes drinks and swears and nothing much else. He’s racked up seven ex-wives in his time and currently works just once a week­—as a bingo caller. What do the two of them have in common? They’re the same man. Every Sunday after sundown, the 31-year-old Briggs transforms, Jekyll-and-Hyde style, into Wilkes, the loudmouthed host of Honky Tonk Bingo at the Pontiac Cafe.

Age-Sensitivity Training A group of sophomores from Toms River High School South made a lot of new friends last week — and all they had to do was join them for bingo. "It makes me feel good inside to do this," said Isabella Leone, 16, one of the students, during an evening at the Haven at Silverwoods, an assisted-living facility on Route 37. The five students, who had already undergone age-sensitivity training, were there with their English teacher, Mary Downing, to get to know the senior citizens as part of a program organized by the Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey.

Authorities say the Casne Foundation, established by the couple in 2005, ran bingo games from the basement of Casne World Las Vegas without a permit. Dan Casne, an Elvis Presley impersonator, and his wife, Jo Anne, bought the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall on Hays Avenue two years ago for $100,000 and turned it into the "Casne World Las Vegas," a place where people could go to catch a show by music impersonators called "The Legends," eat a home-cooked meal and, starting in December, play a game or two of bingo. But a police raid March 23, in which authorities seized bingo machines, television monitors and bingo flash boards, has Casne, 58, rethinking his plans to establish a little bit of Las Vegas glamour in the tiny borough. "I felt like we were Al Capone's bootleggers," Casne said. "They made us feel like we were criminals."

No ill fan, no show The country music duo of "Big Kenny" Alphin and ex-Lonestar singer John Rich left fans disappointed after they backed out of an April 12 concert at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino at the last minute because of a dispute over the wishes of an ill 5-year-old girl when a local radio station had arranged for her and her family to meet them and see the show. But the casino, which bans anyone under 21, wasn't notified. About 1,600 people were allegedly kept waiting in the arena for over an hour before it was announced that Big & Rich wouldn't perform. Rich said "We did have the opportunity to spend some quality time with the young girl and her family on our bus that evening. I am sorry for the girl, the family and all our fans that did not get to see the show."

booing in bingo? Father Robert Evancho posted notices on the doors and elsewhere stating bingo would end March 31. To add further insult, after players booed him upon learning of the decision, Evancho ordered March 20 to be bingo's last stand. Evancho says he never heard the booing. The decision to cancel the last three game dates was made because he thought if people were already angry about bingo ending, they would just become angrier if they came back for the next few weeks. HUH?

Bingo on the Brain

Bingo players have many rituals and routines. Some sit in the same chair every week, some bring stuffed animals or good luck charms. Many players have custom boards that hold their cards at a dauber-friendly angle; others clip, tape or paste their cards to the long tables.

Like most classic games, bingo appears simple but allows players to increase the complexity depending on skill level. Twenty-five squares on a 5-by-5 card are numbered and the middle square is a freebie.

There are more than 552 septillion possible number arrangements — that's 552 followed by 24 zeroes.

Calculating odds in bingo is difficult because the number of cards being played, the number of called numbers and the pattern that determines the bingo have to be considered. Some games require a standard horizontal, vertical or diagonal bingo, others a special design such as a "postage stamp" block of four or "Texas Black Out," in which the entire card is filled.

Like other table games and some video games, bingo is good for the brain, said Teenie Matlock, professor of cognitive science at University of California at Merced. "Reading, games like bingo or Scrabble, anything where you're mentally manipulating numbers or letters is like exercises for your brain."

Healthy advantages of bingo

1. Maintains memory skills
2. Improves concentration
3. Provides social interaction

Bingo player says the game beats twiddling thumbs all day

Bingo is more than just a casual pastime for people such as Margaret Martyn. For bingo hall regulars such as her, it's a lifestyle. Martyn, 78, visits Carnival Bingo up to five times per week. She explained that seniors like her, who have some health problems, it's a good place for an outing. "I can't sit and twiddle my thumbs all day," she said. Though Martyn spends about $30 per day on bingo, she wins some back at least once per week. In fact, she won $400 twice last summer.

Big Bucks Bingo!

A monthly Village Square Conference Center in Clarksburg event draws hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people from across the country. "Back in October, I won $31,494," says Doreen Snelsire of Pittsburgh. Snelsire comes prepared -- bingo cards in hand, a family picture by her side and, of course, her lucky rock. "I have no other addiction!" she says. During the busy summer months, Big Bucks Bingo pays out $100,000 a day.

Casinos Are Mini-Vacations

A new survey reports that millions of New Englanders who visit Connecticut's two tribal casinos consider the trips mini-vacations.  That means they're spending on more than just the slot machines, poker chips and bingo bets. According to the study, it’s translating into millions spent for lodging, entertainment, shopping and food, according to the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.

What can stop a bingo game? Not much - not even a robbery.

Around 6:45 p.m. Monday, a man with a hooded sweat shirt pulled over his face walked into American Legion Post 19, 415 N. 13th St., New Brighton, grabbed a tray of bingo money and ran back out the door, New Brighton Area police said. The man didn't produce any weapon and didn't say anything, police said. Bob Mugwit said the robbery didn't stop the games. He said a lot of people were excited, but after the police arrived and everyone calmed down, they resumed play. "Does anything stop bingo games?" he asked with a laugh.

Bingo hall robber accused in court

A TEENAGER accused of tying up his mother during a robbery at a bingo hall where she was a cleaner has made his first appearance at court. Colin Chapman,18, formerly of Eccleston Road, South Shore, now of no fixed address, is charged with robbing Apollo Bingo on Waterloo Road where he also worked as a cleaner, of an unknown amount of cash. The offence is alleged to have taken place on October 28 last year. Chapman was refused bail by Blackpool Magistrates and remanded in custody to appear at Preston Crown Court on May 10.

Drinking and dabbing Bingo hall operators wary of being allowed to sell liquor

Coming soon to a bingo hall near you -- a long, tall cool one to park beside your purple dabber and lucky charms. Starting February, bingo hall operators in Ontario will get the chance to bring another vice into their gambling dens with a pilot project allowing them to apply for liquor licences. A spokesman for the Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission said bingo halls have been taking it on the chin for years and need help competing with casinos.

Grandma sentenced to three years for running drugs

A 62-year-old Douglas grandmother who a prosecutor accused of running drugs to pay for her out-of-control bingo habit was sentenced Friday to three years in prison and fined $150,000. Leticia Villareal Garcia was arrested in February 2005 when Arizona Department of Public Safety officers, acting on a tip from an informant, stopped her car near Bisbee and found 214 pounds of marijuana hidden in the trunk.

Mother scoops £100k at bingo

A BINGO fan in West Lothian is celebrating after scooping a £100,000 jackpot.  The 50-year-old woman from Livingston, who wants to remain anonymous, won the top prize at the Carlton Club in the town's Almondvale Centre earlier this month.  She is the fifth national winner at the club in the past eight months. The jackpot was won during the club's national bingo game, which is played simultaneously with hundreds of other outlets across the UK.  The mother-of-one said: "I was in total shock when I realized how much I had won."

"Bingo" on stage

"Bingo" is a dinner theater play; it is the story of three hardcore bingo enthusiasts, Vern, Patsy and Honey, who brave a hurricane to get to the most important bingo night of the year. There they meet Alison, daughter of a long-estranged friend on a mission to reunite her dying mother with her long-lost bingo buddies.

Take a moment to try to visualize a stage full of brightly dressed, enthusiastic women singing a song about how "anyone can play bingo/bingo/bingo" and, furthermore, "anyone can win," and you may begin to approach a faint idea what to expect.

In addition, there's a heavy emphasis on audience participation in this show. If you go, be prepared. You'll not only get to participate in a few bingo games yourself, but you may even be accosted by an irate Vern, who takes her bingo very seriously. In fact, Vern came out into the audience and tore a door prize from a woman's hand that "Bingo" begging her to be reasonable. 

Men held over armed bingo robbery

Police hunting a masked gang armed with swords who robbed a bingo hall in Leeds
have arrested two men.

Three men threatened staff at Mecca Bingo in Balm Road, Hunslet, on Sunday evening
before taking an unknown amount of cash.

About 300 players were in the building at the time. No one was injured.

The men, aged 23 and 30, are being questioned. A car thought to have been used in
the robbery has been seized from the Belle Isle area of the city.

A West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said the arrests resulted from calls received
from members of the public after an appeal and the release of CCTV images of the
robbery on Monday.

Joke:

An 87-year-old woman came home from bingo to find her 92-year-old husband in bed with another woman.

She pushed him off a balcony on the 20th floor of a seniors' apartment tower, killing him instantly.

Brought before the court on a murder charge, the judge asked if the woman had anything to say in her defense.

"Yes, your Honor. I figured that at 92, if he could have sex, he could also fly.

Two cousins keeping up a bingo tradition

The ladies dropped their bingo dimes in a plastic cup and smiled at Sam's grandsons as they got ready to call the numbers for the Tuesday night game at Park Avenue Seniors Apartments in Burbank.

"We're all in love with those boys," Dorothy Dunn said as the other ladies nodded in agreement. "If we were younger, we'd be chasing them, that's for sure."

Anne Pisano looked up from her bingo card and smiled. Those boys, her grandsons - Mike Pisano, 24, and John Brillantes, 23. Her late husband, Sam, would have loved this scene, she thought. Loved what his grandsons were doing in his memory. whole article

Sunday gambling ban to be lifted

The government has announced plans to allow bookmakers and bingo halls in Northern Ireland to open on Sundays. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom where these premises have to close on Sundays. The changes would allow bookmakers' offices to open between 1030 GMT and 1830 GMT and bingo clubs to open between 1400 GMT and 2300 GMT. There are also plans for new employment rights to protect staff who do not want to work on Sundays. "Some betting and bingo club workers may not wish to work on a Sunday," he said. He said any relaxation of the Sunday restrictions would be accompanied by "important new employment rights for such workers".

Scotland - Bingo behind bars turns jail into 'Butlins'

BOSSES at Edinburgh's Saughton prison have sparked controversy by putting on bingo nights for prisoners. The weekend treat, which started last month in a remand hall at the jail, has proved so popular that bosses are understood to be considering spreading it out across other wings in the jail.  The prison has even bought a bingo machine for warders to pull out the numbers at the Friday night events, where lucky prisoners are rewarded with chocolate, hair gel and cigarettes.  However, some warders are reported to have criticized the move, which they say is turning the prison into a "fun park" for criminals.  Some warders have said that the prison is "getting like Butlins", while others have argued that there should be more focus on educational programs for prisoners rather than bingo nights.  The Scottish Prison Service said: "We're looking to provide a range of activities for prisoners."

Online Bingo unlike Land Based Bingo

Although Bingo played at land based casinos is fair and square, fun and pleasing, its online casino versions are operated by the most advanced and trusted technologies. This way it has improved its already high reliability features. But perhaps the greatest advantage that online casino Bingo has over land based casinos, which is also a claim about the difference between the entire two industries and venues, is the prizes. New players at the online casino Bingo games can enjoy a welcome bonus and other promotions. It can only be compared to walking into a Bingo hall at a land based casino and receiving a few bills to take home just for coming to the place.
 

Bingo player robbed by man, police say

AKRON: A 60-year-old woman who won a $1,000 jackpot in bingo Monday night was slightly injured when a man grabbed her purse as she was walking to her car in the parking lot at the Ellet Amateur Athletics Association Bingo Hall on East Market Street, police said. The suspect, identified by Akron police as Raymond C. Poore, 24, was being held Tuesday night in the Summit County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond.

CHARITY CALENDARS TOPS £3,700

STAFF at a Glenrothes bingo club who bared all for a special charity calendar have raised more than £3,700 ... so far. The 23 brave employees from Gala Bingo, based in the town's Flemington Road, hoped their numbers would come up after dropping everything for Breakthrough Breast Cancer earlier this year.

Two get 63 months in bingo bilking

Two Madison County women were sentenced yesterday to more than five years in prison and must pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $30,000 each for bilking bingo proceeds intended for charity. Rita Tipton, 64, and her sister, Gloria Williams, 65, were convicted earlier this year by a federal jury of several counts of mail fraud and income tax invasion. Prosecutors say Tipton and Williams operated Jackpot Charity Bingo in Madison County and used a series of schemes including selling illegal pull-tab games -- which are similar to scratch off lottery tickets -- and pocketed the cash. They used that money to gamble at area river boats.

Farepak victims in £100,000 win

A group of women who lost money in the Farepak collapse are celebrating after scooping a £100,000 bingo win. All except the friend who actually won the game had lost between £150 and £400 in Farepak vouchers when the Christmas savings company went bust. They had a pact if any of them won they would share the money and will now receive around £16,000 each. The women have been going to Newcastle together for the past nine years.

Wilmington Bingo Hall Robbed

Police are searching for the man who robbed a bingo hall late Friday night. They say the man came into the bingo hall off Shipyard and Carolina Beach Road and demanded money. Police say the man was armed.

Drugs fund bingo habit.

A grandmother found with a trunkful of marijuana was convicted of drug running in what prosecutors said was an attempt to earn cash for a bingo habit. Villareal, 61, told jurors before they convicted her Thursday that her only regular income was a $275 monthly welfare check, but she frequently played bingo and occasionally won thousands of dollars. Villareal faces three to 12 years in state prison when she is sentenced Dec. 18.

She struggled to hold on to her purse.

The robber ripped it off her arm and ran off.  A local grandmother who won at bingo then lost her winnings to a purse snatcher. The 77-year-old grandmother of two was hurt and her right arm remains severely bruised. She was on her front porch in Footedale when someone came behind her and grabbed her purse.

Bingo! is a hit with children/patients to play from their rooms

Caitlin Byles, 12, shows her frustration as she watches a TV monitor and waits for a Bingo! in her room at Sutton Children's Medical Center in Shreveport, where she is undergoing 14 days of IV therapy to treat cystic fibrosis at Christus Schumpert Sutton Children's Medical Center.

The once-a-month event is a new project of the Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier. It brings kids who are able together into the playroom and with the use of video monitors and television screens allows children to play who are too sick to get out of bed or in isolation.

The patients love it. And so do the staffers.

"Bingo allows every child to participate. It allows socialization and that helps," said Paige Cox, Sutton Children's childlife specialist. "There is music going and people acting goofy. The patients can say, "OK, I can act goofy too. It is bingo time."  

7 YEARS FOR BINGO ROBBER

Salinas A Seaside man was sentenced to seven years in prison Tuesday for his role in the 2005 robbery of a weekly bingo game.

Marcus Crooms and his girlfriend, Michelle Chioino, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit the robbery with the understanding that Chioino will be placed on probation and sentenced to a maximum of a year in jail when she is sentenced Jan. 18.

Crooms, 25, and Chioino, 27, must register as gang members for five years under the terms of the plea agreement. According to prosecutors, the crime was carried out for the Crips street gang.

The pair pleaded guilty in connection with the Nov. 11, 2005, robbery of the Veterans of Foreign Wars bingo game at Oldemeyer Center. Three men attending the tills at a table outside the bingo parlor were robbed while about 150 people played bingo nearby, unaware of the event.

According to testimony at a preliminary hearing, the two masked robbers made off with about $1,300 in cash, leaving a trail of money on the floor as they ran out.