“It’s definitely upsetting because they’re not replacing it with anything,” Strohan said. But that amount can be spent within minutes with electronic slot machines. Strohan said that it will take her about three hours to go through $50 to $75. She said minimum payouts were cut a few months ago.īut that was necessary because there wasn’t enough revenue coming into sustain those payouts, Klassen explained. “A lot of players are now going to Langley to play bingo because they are fed up with how they are being treated.” “We all support the casino by our constant attendance and obvious financial ‘donations’, but we get nothing in return,” added Arlene Hale. She added that Chances hasn’t changed its jackpots nor the space allotted for bingo.īut even on bingo’s busiest nights, the centre only reaches 70 per cent bingo capacity. Hopefully, on our remaining evenings we can concentrate our efforts and turn them into something a little more special than they were.” “We understand that it is also an outing for a lot of seniors, so we’ve kept our afternoon offerings. “It’s been going on for the last seven or eight years,” Klassen said. The various restrictions on smoking indoors in the early 2000s had a major effect, Klassen added.

Klassen said while Friday and Saturday bingo nights appeared busy, that didn’t translate into revenue, turning into losses on Saturdays, when prize payouts were guaranteed.īut bingo has been on the slow decline even before Chances opened four years ago. We can’t do it everyday,” Klassen said.īingo still will be offered Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings, as well as on afternoons from Fridays to Tuesdays. “By thinking outside the box, we can do something. The centre wants to re-invent its bingo offerings over the next few months. “It’s not going anywhere, it’s changing.” “All they want you to do is spend your money in the slots.”Ĭhances director of operations Kaila Klassen said it was a tough decision to cut the Friday and Saturday night bingo, but the game will still be part of the gaming centre. She said that bingo is a social outlet for many seniors. “I think it’s a slap in the face to the community,” added Judy Pepper, who’s been playing bingo for 47 years. She and others are afraid removing the Friday and Saturday nights is just the first step in phasing out bingo completely.

on Fridays and Saturdays, freeing up parking for other patrons at Chances. She said bingo is usually over by 9:30 p.m. “Since Day 1, they have done absolutely nothing to promote it.” “They have basically run it into the ground,” said Strohan. Strohan says there are no longer any guaranteed jackpots and that bingo winnings are just based on the number of participants. “It’s just really discouraging,” said Val Strohan, a bingo regular who also used to play at the Haney Bingo Plex on 224th Street before the opening of Chances in 2013. Recently, the Friday and Saturday night bingo sessions were scratched at the four-year-old downtown facility run by Great Canadian Gaming Corp.

Players are under the letter P for peeved after changes to the bingo hours at Chances Maple Ridge.

Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Tourism Guide.

Ndp senior class bingo 2018