Gateshead, a town located in North-East England on the southern bank of the River Tyne has been designated as the luckiest bingo town in the past year.

The last proof of this gambling magic attributed to the city comes with the story of a woman who won the incredible prize of £50,000 at the National bingo game. She won this amazing prize playing at her local Gala Bingo Club in the Metro Center of which she has been a member for the past 15 years.

A period of rain and flooding limited the decline in revenue bingo halls expected from the smoking ban. Even when the ban started this month, bad weather kept patrons in bingo halls, where revenues have dropped only 6-7%.

Numbers come from Neil Goulden, chief executive of Gala Coral, Europe’s biggest gambling firm and England’s bigger bingo operator. But it’s too early to be certain, Goulden said. Revenues are being compared to a bad period: the World Cup and hot weather reduced attendance during July 2006.

A lucky pensioner saw many years of bingo games finally rewarded when she scooped £100,000. The woman, who asked for her name not to be revealed, was playing at the Mecca Bingo Club in Brook Dale Place, Chester. She considered the prize a late birthday present since she turned 69 in June.

The bingo fan won the National Bingo Game of £100,000 plus the club prize of £226. She completed a “full house” in 41 numbers, which was the lowest call in 500 clubs across the nation. The pensioner said she has been a member of the Mecca Club since 1992.

A woman, who was only identified as Rebecca, was the lucky winner of a £10,000 bingo national jackpot. She was playing bingo with her family at the Leeds-based Gala Bingo Club in Stonebridge Lane, a club that is known as a lucky venue due to the several prizes it has awarded.

The 29-year-old player, said she went to the Club with her family as a present to her grandmother, who turned 67 on that day and usually plays there. The winner also confessed that, although she likes bingo, in the past three years she has only played twice.

Bingo has had a huge popularity increase among East London pensioners lately. A recent survey among a big number of English pensioners has revealed that bingo is their favorite game and global estimates show that around three million people play the game in the UK.

This “bingo fever” has also some unsuspected medical benefits. So was revealed when, recently, geriatric specialists said that bingo might have a positive impact among the elders since it requires the ability to check numbers off quickly and perform a rapid hand-eye coordination.

As it happens every year, Gala Bingo, one of the most important bingo operators in the UK, has named the company’s best bingo caller in the country. The name of this year’s winner is Michael Edwards and he calls bingo balls at Gala Bingo’s Nottingham St Ann’s Club.

During the “National Caller of the Year” ceremony, which took place this week, Mr. Edwards, 33, said he has worked in the bingo industry for six years and that he was honored by the award he received. The competition was held at Gala Bingo’s Birmingham Kingsbury Road Club.

Although thousands of senior citizens spend many nights a week playing bingo for small prizes, in New York it is illegal to play the game in those cases in which money and prizes are offered, without a proper license issued by the state or a local authority. This could change if the bill passed by the state Senate and sent to Governor Spitzer is approved.

The new legislation, which has also been sanctioned by the state Assembly, would make bingo games legal, provided prizes are kept under $10.

Televisa, one of the most popular TV stations in Mexico is about to open 65 bingo halls in the country under the name of Play City. The news was announced by Alfonso de Angoitia, president of Televisas’s financial committee in a meeting he had this week with Mexican financial analysts.

de Agoitia also said that his company is very interested in developing the gambling business in the country and that they have committed to do whatever it takes to formalize the gambling market in Mexico. 60 million dollars have been already invested in the project.

A bill that would not allow charities to get new video bingo machines was killed by the House gambling oversight committee in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. With the current session ending June 28th, there probably won’t be enough time to discuss it any further.

Video bingo machines function in a way that resembles slots. For this reason, video bingo machines are employed in places where gambling is not legal but bingo is. In the state of Louisiana, charitable bingo games have been allowed for decades.

Bingo industry representatives discussed advertising options with a local tourism officer in Sarnia-Lambton, Canada. The region is trying to find ways to bring back American tourists and, with them, the desired and stronger American Dollars.

The problem started when Canadian dollars, the local currency, grew stronger. That, together with the increase in the price of fuel and the confusion over new passport requirements -under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative-, resulted in fewer Americans crossing into Canada. Also, more Canadians choose to go abroad on vacations.