CasinoCityTimes.com

Home
Gaming Strategy
Featured Stories
News
Newsletter
Legal News Financial News Casino Opening and Remodeling News Gaming Industry Executives Author Home Author Archives Author Books Search Articles Subscribe
Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter!
Recent Articles
Best of John G. Brokopp
author's picture
 

Woman's bingo win leads to $1 million payday

7 November 2007

Bingo is one of the oldest and most popular games in the world. Playing bingo is arguably the most socially gratifying experience among all games of chance with appeal that transcends age and gender.

The game occupies a niche in the world of casino gambling, but because it pales in comparison to other games as a revenue generator and, more importantly, because a bingo hall takes up a lot of valuable space, its availability is limited.

Bingo halls are an integral part of the gaming mix at "locals" casinos in Nevada, but here in the Midwest you'll only find them at land-based Native American properties.

One of the biggest can be found at Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The bright and cheerful Nest of Life bingo hall seats 1,300 players and offers a daily payout of $75,000. There's even a spacious non-smoking section separated by a floor-to-ceiling Plexiglass partition. The amenities include big screen TV's, a snack food station, and beverage service.

A woman who wishes to be identified only as Karen W. of Chicago made the hour-and-a-half trip to Potawatomi for a Monday afternoon bingo session last month. Little did she realize she'd come home with a bingo story for the ages, not to mention one million dollars richer.

Karen, in addition to her regular bingo cards, opted to pay an additional $4 for a special sheet known as the All-Star Game. On each card there are numbers configured at each point of five five-pointed stars. The object is to cover the points on all five stars in 48 numbers or less. The chances of doing it are estimated at one in 1.7 million.

Such staggering odds are a component of every aspect of bingo. For example, mathematicians who have analyzed the game estimate there are 552 million billion billion possible combinations using 24 numbers from among one through 75 on a bingo card.

Studies reveal the probability of getting just a standard bingo after 10 numbers is 0.081 percent; after 20 calls, 2.29 percent. The probability of a player getting a "cover all" in 50 numbers is a miniscule 0.00048 percent.

Karen beat the odds - not once, but twice! First, she successfully completed her All-Star card on the 48th and final number called. Her prize was the opportunity to spin the All-Star Bingo Wheel, an upright casino "big wheel" game with 50 partitions containing cash amounts. The minimum she could win was $100,000.

Only one of the partitions was designated with a $1 million prize, which means when Karen stepped up to the wheel she had a 49 to 1 chance to land there. But after bucking odds of 1.7 million to 1, spinning the wheel was a piece of cake. When the wheel's clapper stopped on $1 million for Karen, pandemonium erupted.

How hard is it to qualify? It was a year between All-Star Bingo Wheel Spins. Rosemary, also from Chicago, won $100,000 in September of 2006.

CASINO NEWS: Congratulations to Don H. Barden, chairman and CEO of the Majestic Star Casinos in Gary, who was the recipient of the Heroes and Legends Award earlier this month at the organization's awards and scholarship ceremonies held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The award is given to honor positive role models from diverse backgrounds.

John G. Brokopp

John G. Brokopp's gaming column appears in Chicago Sun Times (Chicago, Illinois), The Times (Northwest Indiana), The Quad City Times (Davenport, Iowa), The Courier News (Elgin, Illinois), The Gazette (Southwest Suburban Chicago) and Senior Wire (Denver, CO). He's also a regular contributor to The Colorado Gambler, Midwest Gaming & Travel, Casino Player and Strictly Slots. John possesses 28 years of experience as a professional handicapper, publicist, freelance writer, and casino gaming correspondent. He is also the author of two very popular books, The Insider’s Guide to Internet Gambling and Thrifty Gambling.

Books by John G. Brokopp:

> More Books By John G. Brokopp

John G. Brokopp
John G. Brokopp's gaming column appears in Chicago Sun Times (Chicago, Illinois), The Times (Northwest Indiana), The Quad City Times (Davenport, Iowa), The Courier News (Elgin, Illinois), The Gazette (Southwest Suburban Chicago) and Senior Wire (Denver, CO). He's also a regular contributor to The Colorado Gambler, Midwest Gaming & Travel, Casino Player and Strictly Slots. John possesses 28 years of experience as a professional handicapper, publicist, freelance writer, and casino gaming correspondent. He is also the author of two very popular books, The Insider’s Guide to Internet Gambling and Thrifty Gambling.

Books by John G. Brokopp:

> More Books By John G. Brokopp