Birthday Gone Bad

There are sometimes in life, no matter how long, or how well things are planned. It just doesn't go well. That is the case here.  We have a group of players that come and play almost every night. Well one them had a birthday on Saturday. In a joint effort they planned a birthday party at the bingo hall. All of the employees knew about it, as well as other customers. They came in early decorated the bingo table with balloons, streamers, plates, napkins, lots of food, and of course a birthday cake. At this point all is going well, right on schedule. Then the doors open for the night. So customers started coming in for the evening sessions. This is when everything went bad. This lady that knew the birthday group, thought the party was for her but it was for the other lady with the same name. She started screaming at them "I can't believe you would give her a party and forget my birthday" She was so mad she turned around while standing at the table in such a rush. She got her bingo bag caught up in the table cloth......off the table came everything!!! Cake and food on the floor. About the same time, here walks in birthday girl. Needless to say it was a big throw down.......... and they all were asked to leave. Just another day at bingo.

Can Man

Every bingo hall I have ever worked or played at has had their very own Can Man. This is a customer that will go through the trash and dig out empty coke cans every night after the sessions are over. Everyone knows that he collects cans, and most customers will leave their empty coke cans out on the tables for him to pick up once they leave. Well, tonight there was almost a fist fight between our Can Man and a self-proclaimed new Can Man. The new Can Man had been picking up the cans on the weekends, when our Can Man wasn't there. We were very busy tonight and ironically, they were both there. After bingo was over, they both started to go through the trash cans. At first, they didn't see each other because of the general commotion of people leaving and talking after the session. Once they spotted what each other and figured out they were doing the same thing, our Can Man started yelling at the new one!! They proceeded to argue with a conversation going something like this:
"Hey man what are you doing? Those are my cans...I get the cans every night!" - Our Can Man
"No you don't, I do!!!!" - The other Can Man

They started yelling at each other louder and louder and eventually began walking towards each other... we all knew that it wouldn't end well. The New Can Man tried to grab the sack of crushed up cans out of our Can Man's hands and demanded that he give it to him. Our Can Man refused to give them up and they immediately began pushing each other - needless to say, it got really ugly, really quick. Luckily, security was there to intercede, so no one got seriously hurt. So, tonight's message is... maybe it is the little things in life that really matter (for instance, aluminum cans). Just another day at bingo.

Bad Weather

We had to close bingo tonight due to the extreme weather. Some of the employees went into work, including myself because I live very close to the bingo hall. Soon after I went in, the owner was contemplating whether or not to shut down the bingo hall. The roads were totally iced and covered in snow; it was below 20 degrees outside. As we were sitting there waiting on the manager to make the call the phone did not stop ringing! People were coming in two hours earlier than usual just to be there in time for bingo. For our customers, just the thought of the possibility that the bingo hall might close, had all of the players in a complete panic. It's really funny the trouble that players will go to in order to play bingo (see prior post titled Candle Lit Bingo). After we told everyone that no bingo would happen tonight, you would have thought that we committed a felony crime!!! These people WERE NOT happy. However, there were not enough of the crazy ones to play bingo. We will see them all tomorrow night, I'm sure. They love their bingo!! Just another day at bingo.

Employee Drama 1

There is always something going on with the employees at a bingo hall. It is such a soap opera. Recently, the owner's brother had been messing around with an employee that is half of his age. None of us ever saw this one coming. The employee's boyfriend found out about it tonight, so of course he came into the bingo hall, and all **** broke lose. He started yelling at his cheating girlfriend, calling her names and causing a huge scene. Then the owner's brother went over to the rescue and that certainly didn't go as I'm sure, he planned it to. It turned into a huge fist fight that even security couldn't break up. Police were called out, but by the time they got there it was all over. Keep in mind that this all happened in the middle of the bingo session, with customers sitting there watching the whole thing unfold. When the drama was finally over, we got back to bingo like nothing had ever happened. That's just how bingo goes. Just another day at bingo.

Thrown Out

Tonight at bingo, a lady got thrown out over twenty dollars. She told a worker that she didn't get her change... but she did. The worker counted down all of his money and was twenty dollars short, so he told the manager about it, and she had to go ask for it back. The customer refused to give it back, so the manager told her she could not play there anymore. This is really unfortunate for her, because now she has to drive at least 45 minutes to go play at another bingo hall. I would like to say that this surprises me, but it doesn't. Sometimes I just cannot comprehend the way some people think. Instead of giving the money back, apologizing for the incident, and everything being okay, she stuck with her story and got indefinitely kicked out. So todays lesson is just be an honest person in life. Everyone makes mistakes, but it a lot easier to say I'm sorry than to stick with a lie that will backfire on you. Just another day at bingo.

Cake Lady

Every bingo hall that I have ever worked in has had a cake lady or a candy lady. This is typically a lady in her 60's that brings in candy or cakes for the employees. Our cake lady brings a cake in every single night. She is very proud of the cakes she brings in; they are always very decorated and look like they came right out of the bakery. Well, here's the truth about her cakes: there is a grocery store right across the street. The cakes she brings in are always in containers from the Bakery in the grocery store across the street. She says she buys them from the store to put her homemade cakes in (the containers always have their price tags torn off). We all know that she just buys the day old cakes on sale and brings them into us, but we would never say so. Well tonight she brought in a Christmas cake.... She said she just felt like practicing her Christmas decorating skills for the next Christmas Holiday. We figured she found it somewhere in her freezer, but we took it and gratefully said thank you. So to all of the cake and candy ladies out there, we truly do appreciate the HOME MADE goodies you bring. But on the other hand... we know when they are not. Just another day at bingo.

Many Losses

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to know so many different people.. many of them on a personal level. When you work in this environment, you get to know the players and you get to know about their lives, their families, their work, their interests, etc... I see some on a nightly basis. Regular costumers are committed to their game and will come in every single night. I have to say that we become really close to the players. After years of seeing these players each and every night, when one of them passes away, it's hard not to miss them. This was the case tonight. We found out that one of our favorite customers had passed over the weekend.. a little old man that has played with us for years. He was there every night, without fail. No one ever knew his real name until now... we all just called him Doc. Just wanted to pass this along. It's not always crazy, funny things that happen at bingo. There are real life experiences we also deal with. Doc you will truly be missed, and I know your favorite seat is waiting on you. God Bless.  Just another day at bingo.