Five Facts You Didn't Know About Bingo
Think you know everything about Bingo? Think again!
- The game was originally known as ‘Beno' but a mispronounced winning call ended up being so liked by the first manufacturer of the boxed version, Ed Lowe, that he decided to rename the game.
- The US and UK versions of the game differ in terms of the layout of the cards and the number of balls used. In addition the US version is won by achieving set patterns with called numbers and the British version is won by completing individual or multiple lines.
- Bingo lingo is a British invention that started during the holiday camp heyday of the 1960s. Callers wanted to add some fun to proceedings and made up classic calls for each number, such as the famous, ‘legs eleven'.
- According to The Guinness Book of World Records, the largest ever bingo game was held by San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino. It took place at the Dodger's Stadium in LA on 29 January 2008, with 53,991 players all participating in the world's biggest ever bingo game, which took place during the intervals.
- The world's largest bingo winner is Christine Bradfield who, on 29 January 2008, went home with a staggering £1.1 million.
