Do you like to win? Do you crave games of chance but, like me, are way too cheap to drop bundles of money at a casino? Do you yearn to hang with Kingston’s glitterati? Do you enjoy dragging home giant summer sausages and tubs of Cheez Puffs like the conquering hero you are? Well, of course you do!
So hold onto your dauber ’cause I have your new pastime right here.
Bingo. B-I-N-G-O.
That’s right. Only five letters, but lots of numbers. Happy days are here in Kingston, because no fewer than three local bars/restaurants offer free bingo throughout week.
That’s right … I said free!
Well, each venue does offer one “money game” at $2 per card, with a nice cash prize for the winner, but otherwise you pay only in the agony of defeat and the occasional thrill of victory. Of course, politeness demands ordering at least a couple of drinks (soda pop counts) and an appetizer or, even better, a full meal.
Here’s the schedule: – Filling Station, Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:30-5 p.m. – Puerto Vallarta, Monday, 3:30-5 p.m. – Drifters, Fridays, 8-10 p.m. In addition, trivia is played at the Filling Station Sundays at 7:30 p.m., and at Puerto Vallarta Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Older kids can play along at Drifters and the Filling Station since the bar and restaurant are in the same room.
My recent bingo-mania began last New Year’s Eve in Hansville. Ted and I were looking for something fun and local to do with our 13-year-old son, Will. We ended up at one of the Buck Lake Community Center’s semi-annual bingo fundraisers. Although the games aren’t free, it’s an evening’s entertainment for less than $20. And entertaining it was: Will won two consecutive games. One more win and we would have been escorted to the Eglon line.
New Year’s Eve would undoubtedly have been the end of my bingo phase if it weren’t for my childhood friend, Jackie, who recently moved back to Kingston from the wilds of Seattle.
Jackie — hopeful to find social life in Kingston and wondering where the heck the singles clubs are — started attending bingo at the Drifters where our mutual friend Big Toni tends bar, calls the games, and breaks your arm if you ask her repeatedly what she means by a “chevron” bingo. (Note: “Big” was tacked onto her name back in high school to differentiate her from our other friend, Little Toni. I don’t wish to give you the wrong impression and me a broken arm.)
Win at the Drifters and you win big! I’m talking Costco big. Tubs of snack foods, hunks of cheese, slabs of bacon, and mountains of toilet paper. OK, I’m kidding about the toilet paper but, hey, why not? However, the best prize of all are the brownies! More brownies than you can eat in a week, or I can eat on the way home.
The best part of winning — aside from screaming “BINGO!” in the ear of the person sitting next to you — is sharing your spoils. Pop open that brownie bucket and offer them around.
After introducing my youngest son to gambling on New Year’s Eve, I then dragged middle son Alex and his friends down the dark and dauber-ridden path. No longer the refuge of the middle-aged, Kingston bingo is being adopted by the 21-year-old set. Let’s face it, the price is right for those with college debt. And free snack foods are always appreciated.
As for the game itself, there’s a comforting consistency in the same lame puns that are delivered during each game. What naughty comment will follow a call of “O-69” tonight?
So, a big thank you to the businesses that have given me a reason to leave my house and hang with friends again. Bingo today … trivia tomorrow!
— Contact Wendy Tweten at wendy@wendytweten.com.
