Drum Bingo

Thank you from Drum Bingo

Drum Bingo was suspended due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The Committee regrets that it is not in a position to resume bingo and wishes to thank most sincerely all those who supported us. Bingo was an important source of income for Drum Community Centre over the years, from the mid 1990s to 2020.

History

Drum Bingo took place every Friday night in Drum Community Centre, Summerhill, Athlone. There was up to €1200 in prizes to be won every week, and book prices started at just €3 for a half book. Doors opened at 8pm, and the game started at 8.30pm. There was an interval (at approximately 9.20pm), and we usually concluded around 10.20pm. The tuck shop was open before bingo and during the interval, selling soft drinks, chocolate bars, sweets, crisps and bingo markers!

This was an important community service, and was run by a small voluntary committee who gave of their time and energy to provide this vital social outlet.

In addition to the regular cash prizes, at various times throughout the year the committee organised extra prizes – for example 24 Easter Eggs on Good Friday night, 24 Barm Bracks at Halloween, and 24 tins of biscuits/sweets at Christmas. Raffles were also organised at both Easter and Christmas, with large hampers and other seasonal treats to be won.

Busses were organised from many areas.

Prizes

Single line: €20
Two lines: €30
Full house: €40
Jackpot (full house – game 11): €100
Gamble sheet (flyer – page 7): up to €90 per line [prize paid out wwas the check number (or rounded up to the nearest five). The minimum payout per line was €40]

Book Prices

Double Book (12 panels): €10
Single Book (6 panels): €6
Half Book (3 panels): €3

Extra sheets

Gamble sheet (6 panels): €2 (no half sheets) [This was an extra game which was not included in the bingo book. It was played as game 7, just after half-time, and the prize was up to €90 per line [prize paid out was the check number (or rounded up to the nearest five). The minimum payout per line was €40]

Extra Jackpot sheet (game 11) (6 panels): €1 (no half sheets) [The Jackpot was included in the bingo book and was run at game 11. The extra sheet offered an extra chance to win. The top prize was €100 for the full house]

Thanks for your support!

We always tried to sustain the tough times without changing the price of books or the amount of prizes paid out but this was not always possible.

In June 2007 we were forced to consider the options available to us that would help the situation. In an effort to ensure the immediate future, the Bingo committee decided that as of Friday, 6 July 2007 the payout of the Gamble game would be adjusted in an effort to balance the books.

In April 2011, we were again forced to examine the situation in an effort to make bingo sustainable. After looking at all our options, we decided to increase the price of books slightly, starting Friday 6 May 2011. This was the first change in book prices since the Euro came in back in 2002 – that was over 9 years previous. A double book now cost €10, a single book cost €6, and a half book was €3.

In May 2017, another slight revision of prizes was necessary, but changes were kept to a minimum.

We felt these changes were necessary steps to sustain our weekly bingo here in Drum and we hoped that we would not be forced to take further steps in this direction and that in the future we would be in a position to increase prizes if possible.

We thank all those who supported Drum Bingo in order to keep it viable over the years.