Big jackpots are the main attraction, there's no doubt about that
For some, bingo is played with an old-fashioned cardboard card or a brightly colored dauber and the rewards range from a quilt or a cash prize in the $50 to $100 range.
Others play "big-time" bingo, supplementing their paper cards with squawking electronic Ted, Alice, or Wizard machines and the prizes can be as lucrative as $10,000.
Monroe and St. Clair counties have more than their share of the latter, but starting next week, they may have to readjust their sights.
Gardenville Community Center—a quick hop across the Jefferson Barracks Bridge on Telegraph Road in South St. Louis County—is hosting its final bingo Friday.
Brilliant Properties, which owned the FranView Plaza where the 400-seat bingo hall operated for 12 years, has declined to renew Gardenville's lease.
"I know a lot of people come from Columbia, Millstadt, Waterloo. They loved our bingo. We even had a good showing (three weeks ago) when we had the snow," said Bernie Fagan of St. Louis, a volunteer for Sertoma—Service to Mankind, one of the five charitable groups that hosted bingo at the center.
"This has been a great location, close enough to the highway and the bridge that people from South County and the people from Illinois could get here in a few minutes. We were devastated when we found out we were losing the lease," Catherine Stark, building manager for Gardenville, said.
Many players attended each of the center's five weekly sessions, dropping as much as $75 to $100 on a tabletop plastered with paper cards, an electronic machine and stacks of pull-tabs.
The question now is where will local bingo enthusiasts go to indulge their feverish pastime?
"I guess I'll go to the American Legion Hall in Columbia," Millie Ritter of Columbia said. "It's right up the street from me.
"The only thing I don't like though is (the Columbia Legion bingo is) non-smoking."
That and the fact she will not hit the types of jackpots she scored in her 12 years of playing in South County.
"I've done well here," Ritter said. "I hit the $2,000 progressive once and four times I hit it at $1,199."
"We just hate that this hall is closing," Katie Kempen of Monroe City said. "When they had bingo here seven nights a week for a while, we came."
"But we've spent some money here, too," Donna Tucker of Waterloo said. "The jackpots are great, but it costs a lot more to play."
Jennifer Valerius operates the Waterloo Veterans of Foreign War's Friday night bingo, where players have one chance at $500 while most games are in the $50 payoff range.
"There have been a lot of rumors about bingo halls closing and some have actually closed," Valerius said. "I'd say we're about the smallest, maybe 120 to 150 players on a Friday.
"Maybe if the big hall in South County is closing, more Waterloo and Columbia people will stay close to home and play here. We can't compete with the kinds of prizes they had, but it doesn't cost as much to play here, either."
At the Waterloo hall, players can sit down for as little as $6—though most opt to play more cards, she said.
Kempen said she is more likely to opt for another large bingo hall than to indulge in "small-hall" bingo.
"You can have a lot of fun at Millstadt or Waterloo or Columbia," Kempen said. "But they just can't afford to pay out the big pots. You get spoiled when you're used to playing for thousands."
Valerius said the post's famous fried fish and chicken are as much of an attraction as the bingo for her loyal players.
"Big jackpots are the main attraction, there's no doubt about that. But for me, that is not the most important factor," Fagan said.
"What I want to know about a hall before I know how much their pay-outs are is are they comfortable, are they clean, are they well lit? And are the people who serve you friendly? If the people are nasty or mean or surly, I won't play there."
For some, bingo is played with an old-fashioned cardboard card or a brightly colored dauber and the rewards range from a quilt or a cash prize in the $50 to $100 range.