Eyes down for a winning night out

Ruth Addicott went along to The Gala in Brighton and met the regulars to find out what keeps them coming back with their dabbers, who has had the biggest wins and what they make of the growing trail of fag-ends out the front

"Three and nine. Thirty-nine." Heads down, dabbers at the ready, I am at The Gala Bingo in Kemp Town.

"On its own. Seven."

It's a wet Wednesday night but that hasn't deterred the regulars who are here for a good night out and the chance to win the jackpot (tonight it's up to £100,000).

There is no "Clickety-click, 66" or bingo lingo with as much as £28 million in cash being paid out every week in winnings, bingo is serious business. The other main difference, of course, is the smoking ban. A report by Mintel in January claimed the ban is having a huge impact, with some 200 halls at risk of closure.

While The Gala in Brighton still attracts up to 4,500 players a week, Mintel has predicted an eight per cent drop in admissions nationwide in the next year.

Tonight the only thing filling the air is the eager anticipation of a win and the whiff of chips from the fast food bar.

As someone shouts "House!" and the game ends, I make my way up the aisles to chat to some of the regulars.

Betty Streeter, 69, and Eileen, 71, from Newhaven have been going to the bingo for more than 30 years.

"We're sisters," explains Betty. "We married two brothers and that's our mother." She points to 92-year-old Ivy Sexton, who's sitting opposite, hiding behind a copy of Take A Break.

Ivy may look like a frail pensioner but she has the presence and voice to rival Ray Winstone.

"One clout from her and you know you've had one," declares Betty. "Mum gets all the young boys chasing her. See him over there," she points to a big bloke sitting with his girlfriend. The man looks up and gives us a wave.

"He's not scared of her, he's petrified." As if on cue, Ivy shuffles around and jabbing her dabber in the air, says, "Watch eet!"

Their biggest win to date was two years ago when Eileen scooped £24,000 on Mother's Day. Unlike the story about the pensioner who was so excited her teeth fell out, they emerged with their dentures intact and a nice little earner in the bank.

Eileen bought a freezer and went to Turkey on holiday, Betty got the hall re-carpeted and Ivy put the rest towards her pension. "We always share, even if it's a tenner," says Betty.

For all her front, however, Ivy has been known to become speechless when it's time to shout "House", a potential problem when you're at the bingo. Betty recalls one particular episode when her mother was one number short of the big prize and started nudging her and waving her book in excitement. Thinking she'd won the jackpot, Betty stepped in, stopped the game and hollered "House!" on her behalf, only to discover it was a false call. "It's better to shout than miss it," she points out.

While it's nice to make some cash, it's the banter and the company that matters, she says. Gala pays out more than £4 million each day and has some 250,000 winners every week, yet the prospect of winning ranks only fifth in the reasons why people go.

"The staff are really friendly and you get to know the regulars. It's a home from home really," says Betty.

Spotting a large pack of B&H alongside the dabbers, I ask what they make of the no-smoking ban. Betty, who has smoked for the best part of 60 years, says it's not so much the ban that bothers her, but the impact on numbers.

"It's made a heck of a difference," she says. "Sunday night used to be pretty well packed out. There are a lot of faces you don't see now."

Ivy is also having to shuffle out between games for a quick ciggie. She has smoked ever since her late husband was taken captive in Germany in the Second World War.

"He came home minus one arm and weighing about three-and-a-half stone," explains Betty. "She doesn't smoke quite as much now, though."

That is one of the positive sides to the ban at least. Betty concludes she is smoking half the amount she normally would. Should it spell the end for bingo altogether, she says: "It would be awfully sad. It's an evening out."

Just along the row is Maurice Williams, 76. With his huge glasses and equally wide grin, he frequents the bingo five times a week. His two pints perched in front of him, he says: "I love the bingo. It's the only pleasure I get, dear." I ask how long he has been coming. "Since it opened, dear." Any big wins? "Yes, dear."

Maurice, it turns out, is no mug. He has picked up £2,000, £600 (twice), £500, £300 and a good few £100s over the years but always goes halves with his lady friend'. He's bought a new suit, shoes, net curtains and a three-piece suite.

Apart from mobile phones going off at crunch points, Maurice's only gripe is the cigarette butts outside. "That smoking ban is the best thing they've ever done," he says.

While there are plenty of walking sticks and silver perms in sight, the audience is getting younger. Forty-seven per cent of Gala Bingo winners are under 45 and nearly half of all new players are under 34. The biggest increase apparently being from people in their 20s (although it's difficult to see from tonight's showing).

The trend has been further endorsed by celebrities - Robbie Williams, Emma Bunton, Bono and Chris Evans are all said to be fans, while Russell Crowe and Bryan McFadden actually began their careers as bingo callers.

Even the taxi driver who dropped me off expressed an interest in joining, surprised by the size of the jackpot.

It's ten minutes until the next game is about to start so I make my way over to Dee English and her daughter Gaynor, 24. Dee has also been playing for 30 years but there are no dabbers on this table. Both Gaynor and Dee are using an electronic keypad so advanced it actually bleeps to tell you when you're on your last number.

Suddenly there's a deathly hush and all eyes are down, as it's time for the next game. Over my shoulder, I spot Ivy, deep in concentration. Maurice, too, is in full swing, striking off each number with a flamboyant tick.

"Yes!" shouts someone after what seems like a nano-second. (As luck would have it, it's Maurice, who has scooped another £220.) Gaynor groans and Dee looks up.

"I had a nice big win in January - £2,730," she whispers.

The minute the interval arrives, there's a stampede for the door, Dee among them, as everyone troops out for a fag. Those left entertain themselves with a crossword or polystyrene plate of Jumbo sausage and chips.

The other way to spend the interval is, of course, on the slot machines, which is where I find Yvonne, 60. She has had a few big wins lots of £1,000s and then £8,000 a couple of years ago (she shared it with three of her friends).

Asked what she spent her winnings on, she says: "It went back on the bingo." Yvonne claims the only thing that's changed in the past 20 years is the machines have got harder. "It's more difficult to get money out now," she says, not taking her eyes off the screen for a split second. "I've put a lot of money in here and I need to get it back." As if on cue, a torrent of shiny gold pound coins come tumbling out the bottom.

"How much is there?" I ask finally. "Forty-eight quid," she says, seemingly unimpressed. "I had to get my money back." Before I have time to ask another question, Yvonne has scooped up her winnings and is off to find another machine.

As she starts feeding the coins back in, she yells over: "Make sure you don't put my surname in my husband doesn't know I'm here." Back in the bingo hall, engrossed in a crossword, is Eileen Wilson, 93, from Hove. "There's no skill involved. You've just got to listen to the numbers," she informs me.

How does she manage to keep up?

"Oh, no problem at all," she says. "I'm not very good on my legs but the hearing is perfect." Having been present at the opening of the old Mecca Bingo in Middle Street, Brighton, in 1967, she now goes to The Gala twice a week. "It gets me out of the house," she says. "There's nothing on the telly."

For all her commitment, however, there is only one win which really sticks out. It was back in the Sixties when her late husband won the link £575. "My heart nearly stopped," she recalls. "In those days that was a lot of money. We were very careful and it lasted us a long time." Despite being a non-smoker, Eileen feels the ban is a little bit harsh.

Although enjoying the fresh air, she doesn't believe in dictating to people and feels sorry for them having to go outside.

While few of the regulars want to dwell on how much they've spent on the game over the years, they are more than happy to talk about their fortune.

When it comes to lucky charms, the last thing you'd think of bringing would be a bag of nails. But bingo enthusiast Kathie Dick, 76, is willing to try anything.

"I've tried coming in early, I've tried coming in late," she says. "Someone once told me if you find a nail in the street and then get one from your house and put them together in your purse, it brings good luck.

The first time I did it, I won £500. All I do is go looking for nails now. I've got a purse full of them." Kathie's luck came in again a couple of months ago when she won £1,000.

A regular at the bingo four times a week, she says: "It's all I've got. It gets me among my friends. There'll come a time when I won't be able to get here so I make the most of it." An ex-smoker, Kathie isn't wholly keen on the ban, believing it is taking away people's freedom "and they've got to go out in the cold, which isn't right".

A fellow non-smoker with a gripe against the growing trail of butts out the front is Kathleen Kis, 80, from Kemp Town. "They all stand there smoking like idiots, throwing their butts away. It's disgusting," she says.

Asked how she'd feel if the ban affected numbers and forced the bingo to close, she replies: "What would we do? I would have to find a man, I think. I hope they don't close." Kathleen normally goes to The Riva Bingo in Moulescoomb, her most memorable night being the time her son won £1,000 and another £1,000 in the game straight after. (They split the winnings.) Numbers might be on the slide and the smokers consigned to the cold but, as I prepare to leave, in the foyer I spot the taxi driver from earlier filling out a new recruitment card.

At least I've found them two new members. I'm going back next week...

• Gala Bingo is at 1 Freshfield Way, Freshfield Business Park Brighton. Call 01273 621884. Free membership and admission, games start at £10.

Did you know?

• Bingo is the most popular group leisure activity in the UK and the most popular leisure activity for women between 20 and 25 years old. (source: Mintel)
• Bingo is the only gambling permitted by the armed forces.

• The first bingo game consisted of dried beans, a rubber stamp and cardboard.

• Every year bingo players in Gala Clubs consume 15,000 tons of chips and four million pints of lager.

• 47 miles of Jumbo sausage are also sold.

• The luckiest name for a female member is Margaret and for a man, Joe.

Worth a flutter? A good way to spend an evening with friends? Or a mindless waste of time? Tell us your views on bingo below