Why Bingo?
Jack’s Prize Bingo at the Newcastle Hoppings
Maybe it was the nostalgia of the travelling fairs that used to visit Wibsey every year.
The Waltzer or the arcade games would enthral others, but the bingo booth mesmerised me.
It wasn’t all the nannas and grandads, mums and dads playing game after game that grabbed my attention. No. It was the bingo blower filled with bouncing bingo balls.
That would have probably been the end of it, except in 2013, I got a job as a sales manager at Edward Thompson (ET) in Sunderland, the world’s biggest bingo ticket printer.
You could say Sunderland and the North East is home to British bingo.
ET played a significant part in the development of the game from the 1950s.
Today, the City is home to Tombola, and in the Northeast, we also have Bede Gaming and Rocket X/Leo Vegas, all big players in the online gaming market.
While at Thompsons, I found an old vintage bingo blower for sale. I bought it on a whim. Then I bought another and another. Today I have:
- four bingo blowers
- two centrifugal bingo ones
- a 90-number electronic bingo machine
- a multi-chamber prize draw machine (it uses numbered balls).
- a trio machine that can run bingo, raffles and totes
- a treasure chest raffle machine
- a take-your-pick game; and
- a professional lottery machine.
Once you have bingo blowers, you also need balls for them to work. I was very fortunate to be able to buy a lot of old ‘new’ stock from a retiring supplier. I started to sell surplus sets and now sell and rent used vintage ones.
When the word got out that I collect bingo machines, I got more and more requests to run bingo nights or for people to ‘borrow’ one for an event. So the need for this website was born.
If you are looking to hold a bingo night, raffle or lottery as well as renting equipment for all of these I can also give you help and advice to ensure your event is a success.