Operators of the Flamingo Hotel’s bar venues in Surrey have turned their attention to a weekly bingo night in White Rock, among other ventures.
The original plan was to host “Flamingo Bingo” events at the place on King George Boulevard, at 108th Avenue, but those bingo games will now be played at Star of the Sea church hall on Wednesdays evenings, starting March 6, due to the permanent closure of the Flamingo late last month.
Last fall, Fleetwood resident Darlene Luniw connected with Flamingo operators about hosting bingo games in the lounge there, following the demise of bingo at Newton Community Gaming Centre last April.
“We were thinking of doing bingo twice a week there, possibly one day and one night, but it never happened,” Luniw explained.
Instead, she’s helped Penmar Community Arts Society organize games at the hall in White Rock, at 15262 Pacific Ave.
“I helped them set it up, and they had some questions that I had the answers to,” Luniw said Monday.
Doors open at 5 p.m. Wednesdays, according to a Facebook event post, with early games starting at 6 p.m. and regular games at 7 p.m.
“Revenue generated goes to PRIZES, event operation and into concerts and events on the Peninsula,” the event post says.
A concession with snacks and drinks is promised, as is free parking in the back of the venue, off Fir Street.
“We are also looking at a second license (we need to go through the application process) to operate bingo on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in the Alice McKay building,” Penmar’s Dione Costanzo told the Now-Leader.
In Surrey, bingo is currently played at St. Bee’s (Saint Bernadette Parish, 6543 132nd St., Newton) on Tuesday evenings.
“We’re hoping the White Rock one will be popular, too, and it should be, because there are still a lot of people around who want to play,” Luniw said.
At King George Boulevard and Hall Road in Newton, the bingo hall closed last April because the lease of the facility was due to expire, and the gaming centre’s owner, Gateway Casinos & Entertainment, planned to exit the location, effectively ending nearly a quarter-century of bingo games there. Gateway shifted its bingo operations to Cascades Casino in Langley.
• RELATED STORIES:
LAST CALL: Bingo players and staff lament closure of Newton gaming centre.
Buy-buy Byrdie: A blowout sale at Surrey’s Flamingo.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.comLike us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram and follow Tom on Twitter
