But bingo isn't about to become history. More than 70 years later, the game is still played heavily all over the world and in the River City. If our patrons lose, at least they know it's going to a good cause and don't feel quite as bad. Walk into the Lion's Club on a Friday night, and it is immediately apparent that bingo is serious business. Arlington Lions Club player Vickii Lopez's lucky bingo charms include these stuffed animals.
Women make up the majority of the crowd.
Men are sprinkled sparsely through the crowd of bingoholics that line the rows and rows of tables. The players sit with paper bingo cards placed before them like multicolored swatches of a patchwork quilt. Almost invariably, a cigarette smolders between the fingers of their other hand. Puffs of smoke snake their way into the air to join the gray haze that hangs above the players. Combined with the anxious eyes and ears of bingo addicts, the air is heavy with anticipation and frustration.