OUTrageous Bingo

This past weekend The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Pittsburgh, once again held OUTrageous Bingo. The tag line "This ain't your Grandma's bingo!" is the best way to describe this event. The bingo is held at Rodef Shalom in the Oakland/Shadyside part of town. This month was extremely crowded and seating was a big issue. You see you can call and reserve seats at the event, but the person you call has nothing to do with ticket sales. So some people call and reserve seats prior to actually having tickets, or they reserve more seats than they have people in their group, just in case they need more. Because of this there are many empty reserved seats. The doors to the event open at 6:30 and Bingo begins at 7:30 so at 7:00 reservations are no longer held. People who did not make a reservation are then allowed to find a seat. I believe this is fair, if you make a reservation you should be able to get there by 7:00 and claim your seats, if you cannot be there by then, you forfeit that reservation. Some people did not find that to be a fair practice and they complained about it.

By 7:30 it seemed as though any seating disputes were solved and we were ready to play Bingo. We had many first timers (or Bingo Virgins as they are called there) with us so we tried to explain how the things would work for the evening. I say "tried" because some concepts were difficult for some of the virgins to grasp. Before the games begin everyone in attendance stands up, holds their dauber in the air and recites an oath. The oath reminds all players that they are there to raise money for the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and that bingo is just a game. There is no reason to become upset or frustrated because it is just a stupid game. The games began and we were all excited to start playing. During the games we must frequently remind each other of the oath we took. It is very easy to begin to get frustrated when you need only 1 more number called and he calls every number around yours, but never says it. Just when you think he is about to say your number he calls something that sounds very close and some other person yells BINGO!

None of us won a game of Bingo all night long. That doesn't mean we didn't have a fun time though. During intermission the Drag Queens perform and it is always a good time. Frequent blog readers Jill, Lauren, and Alexis joined us for the first time and they all had a blast. Each of them have given me a quote to sum up their experience that night.

Jill- "That certainly was the most exhilarating night of bingo in my life, I can't wait to go back for more"

Lauren- "I have never been so excited about bingo before. I can't wait to go back!"

Alexis- "It was a lot of fun, but I am a little sad that i didn't win anything. I will definitely go back and hopefully win big."

Speaking of winning big, the 50/50 raffle from that night paid out over $1000. The winner was actually moved to tears and seemed to be in a state of shock after hearing his number called. It was very touching to see how happy he was to win the money. We may not have won any cash prizes, but I did walk home with a door prize. I am now the proud owner of some fancy clip on earrings. When I tried them on many people thought I was wearing them wrong, but they go up your ear, accenting the sexy natural curves of the human ear.
Everybody who went with us had a great time and said they can't wait to come back. I also know of many people who want to come along with us for a first visit too. We will certainly get a group together to go again next month. Not only is this a fun night out with a chance to win, it is also supporting a good cause. So even if you don't win you can still feel good about doing something nice for others!