It’s ‘Unlucky for Some’ After Man Charged with Rigging $10K Bingo Game

Headline caught your attention? It did me too when it landed in my inbox this morning. This is a great read for all the bingo skeptics out there who seem to think bingo is somehow ‘rigged.’ We all know that when it comes to winning a game of bingo it’s down to pure luck – you’re either going to win or you’re not, there are no foolproof ways of guaranteeing a win, but, one man from across the pond thought he could manipulate the game in his favor, and the outcome wasn’t one he expected.

To rig a system, you either need to have the sophisticated tools to get into the operators back-engine (and this is impossible) or you need a man (or two) on the inside who turn a blind eye and John Cook, 43 from Louisiana thought he’d cottoned onto a good thing when he found the perfect way to win – by cheating.

Surprisingly, the bingo-thief actually pulled this off more than once but like all scammers, their luck eventually runs out. Police say that Cook was recorded on video at a popular United States bingo hall, manipulating a ‘Bonanza Bingo’ game. This was achieved by hand-picking the balls he wanted to play and then he proceeded to hide his ‘winning ticket’ until he was ready to call house.

The bingo game scam was carried out a total of four times and this led to wins of multiple thousands for him, his sister and three other people, but his number was up when the cops swooped in and nabbed them.

Bingo Thief Cleans Up

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen bingo thieves hit the news headlines; just two weeks ago, a manhunt was launched after two men made their way into a bingo hall in Southampton and stole £15K. The duo forced their way into the building with crowbars before locking up the cleaner and cashing out their ‘winnings.’ Officers are appealing to witnesses and have described the pair as being between 20 and 40-years old and were seen making off on a moped or motorcycle.

Inside (Wo)Man

Back in 2013, a ‘trusted’ bingo hall manager was jailed for four years after she fleeced her employer out of more than £100K. The scam which ran for four-years saw the woman stealing on average £500 per week when she was supposed to be handing out the winnings. By the time her bosses had cottoned on, she had already pocketed more than £100,000 in other people’s winnings.

In 2003, Ian Kelly a bingo worker for Gala Bingo in Accrington stole £2285 (almost in £1 coins) before blowing the lot on drink, drugs and hotel stays. Only after he was arrested did he reveal that he would’ve handed himself in (yeh, right!)

Another Gala Bingo staff member scammed £1500 from the major bingo operator in 2018 to pay off her debts. The 42-year old admitted to running a voucher scam whilst working as a cashier. When it came to gathering cash from customers, she replaced some of the cash with vouchers which raised more than an eyebrow with staff.

March 2019, a worker for Empire Bingo in Caernarfon (Wales), admitted to stealing £600 from the club to pay a cocaine debt and this led to a 12-month community order with 15-days rehabilitation activity, 35 days on an accredited programme and 150-hours of unpaid work, plus a charge of £170.

As you can see, there is no way of beating the bingo system to win – rules and technical measures are there to ensure this. Thieves try and thieves get caught. You can however maximise your chances by playing at off-peak times and playing bingo games where there are less players.