Bingo Caller Of The Year 2007 And Smoking Ban Round Up

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Bingo Caller Of The Year 2007

Bingo calling is one of the essential elements of the game of bingo. Every night in the 600+ clubs in the UK, bingo callers take the stage to call the numbers and help create a fun atmosphere. It's a tricky job, not for the faint hearted. A bingo caller needs to have a thick skin at times, and be on hand with a funny line or a sharp remonstrance at others. Not everyone is suited to the job.

In recognition of the skills required to fill this important role, there are a number of annual bingo calling competitions - both at the club and the national level. The best known of these is the NGBA Bingo Caller Of The Year Competition run by the National Bingo Game Association. Their huge national competition kicked off again back in April with the final to be held in November 2007, following the regional heats.

Entry forms have gone out to clubs all around the UK where the Bingo callers are being encouraged to sign-up and take part and fight for the ultimate title of Bingo Caller Of The Year. The 2006 competition was won by Brett Hyrjak from Bognor Regis. Ahead of this year's competition, we caught up with Brett for an interview and to write his own personal monthly column.

Anyone wanting to enter the competition would do well to tune drop into Brett's new monthly column. In the latest he gives tips on what it takes to be the Bingo Caller Of The Year. He gives an insight into what the judges are looking for, and the amount of dedication it takes to get into the competition. In an earlier column, he talks about how he got involved and where it lead him - it's essential reading for anyone with an interest in calling bingo.

Smoking Ban Round-Up

There was a lot of news during April and early May concerning the Bingo industry and the smoking ban. At the start of the month the ban came into force in Wales, and at the end of the month Northern Ireland became the third part of the UK to be smoke free. It's still too early to see how much of an effect it's had in those parts, but in Scotland where they've had the ban for a year now, reports of big drops have made the news with the release of annual profit reports.

The Scottish chain Carlton Bingo reported a drop of 62% on their profits annual profits. They'd already had to close three of their halls the last year, and if things don't pick up, they'll consider closing more. Mecca have also seen a couple of drops. Their admissions are down 10% the last year and they've also seen a 17% drop in like-for-like sales on this time before the smoking ban. There is plenty of hope around that things will change in the next year or two, but there is still plenty of tough times ahead.

And at Mecca, things are quickly getting tougher. This week saw more bad news concerning Mecca's portfolio. It announced that it's preparing to sell around ten of its 103 Bingo halls ahead of the ban in England. The halls are all under review, and unfortunately are the smaller and older clubs that the ban is having the greater effect on.

Still After Your Bingo Hall Reviews

Our Bingo Hall Reviews section is looking a bit bare. We want your reviews for the section. If you play Bingo out in the real world - we want you to write a review of your local club. What's more, we'd like to pay you for your trouble.

That's right - we'll pay you to review your Bingo Hall - £10 a pop. But, before you all rush off to write your reviews - please note we only have a limited amount of tenners to hand out, so before you put fingers to keyboard email us to see if we have any left. Reply to this newsletter and change the subject to Bingo Review and we'll get in to contact with you to give you more info.

Bingo Petition Delivered To Downing Street

Following on from the smoking ban news, the 230,000 name strong 'Stop Destroying My Bingo' petition was delivered to 10 Downing Street on the 24 April. Three generations of Bingo player from Llanelli were responsible for delivering the petition that had been put together in Bingo clubs and online. As well as concerns raised by the smoking ban, the campaign is against the governments taxation rules on Bingo.

Bingo Bliss - Get £2 Of Free Games On Us

Bingo Bliss are a fairly new name in the online Bingo world - setting up back in the later quarter of 2006. The site is powered by the excellent St Minver network, which means you get great service, the best web based Bingo software and superb sign up bonuses.

They offer the usual great St Minver sign up bonus of £1 of free games once you verify your account and a further 100% match bonus on your first deposit. If you'd like to give them a try then we've arranged and extra bonus for Bingo Codes members. Instead of the usual £1 of free games you can get £2 of free games when you sign up to try.

To claim the extra free £1 - sign up at Bingo Bliss. On the registration form is a box marked Promotion Code, enter the following 5 letter code: BLISS (uppercase) and submit your registration. Once you confirm your account, you should find £2 of free games waiting for you. Best of all, you can play it before you've even given credit card details of funded your account.

There are terms and conditions on any winnings you get from the free money - so please check the full terms and conditions at their site.

Threads Of Note From The Bingo Forums

• Mecca Blues - vicki2 gets discussion going on the current problems besetting the Mecca Bingo chain.
• National Bingo Night - tater03 alerts us to a new game show - it's Bingo meets American Gladiators on US TV.
• Your Biggest Shout? - Care to share yours?

And Finally

May the Bingo Gods smile on you the next time you play, and until the next time, all the best.

David 'Dio Bach' Lloyd
May 9th 2007

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