![]() ![]() In Michigan, the number of bingo licenses issued by the state has plummeted from 1,296 in 2004 to 425 last year. Now only the last two nights survive, and both have to share this old building, which houses an organization that likewise sees its numbers dwindling, the same as all service clubs in the country, many of which have closed. And Saturdays here at the Odd Fellows Lodge. Fraternal Order of Eagles auxiliary on Tuesday. There was a game at the Knights of Columbus on Sunday. “Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s you had bingo seven nights a week,” she said. ![]() Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Pressīut interest in bingo has steadily fallen the past few decades all over the country, seemingly dying off with the last generation that embraced it years ago. RIGHT: A woman keeps watch while waiting to help check potential winning cards as people play bingo. LEFT: Bingo balls that were drawn are shown on the screen as the numbers are called during a bingo night held at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Ishpeming on Friday, Feb. BOTTOM: A woman keeps watch while waiting to help check potential winning cards as people play bingo. TOP: Bingo balls that were drawn are shown on the screen as the numbers are called during a bingo night held at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Ishpeming on Friday, Feb. Whoever’s first to get five numbers lined up in a row wins that game’s prize, which can reach hundreds of dollars at even the smallest of small-town games. Players use ink-tipped daubers to mark the squares on their cards matching that number. ![]() A caller randomly selects balls one at a time and announces each one to the crowd. Players buy cards that feature 24 random numbers between one and 75 on them. He gave it a name, marketed squared cards and numbered balls, and the game soon became hugely popular across the country. But the game as it’s played today started in 1929, when a traveling salesman spotted some people at a carnival in Georgia playing a game that used stamped numbers on a board and beans to mark them off as they were called. And then it just started dying off.”īingo’s roots go back centuries, to Europe. “Back 10 years ago, 15 years ago, we used to get 130 to 150 people in here on Saturday night every week,” she said, looking over a room with less than half that number now. It’s not the same as it used to be, though. When a floor worker at this bingo hall called in sick one night, someone walked over there and recruited her to fill in. Years ago, she was bartending at a place called the Wonder Bar just around the block. “We have two ladies that come and play and they didn’t come for two weeks, so I called them. If someone doesn’t come around for a week or two, she checks on them at home, especially if they’re older. “The kids don’t have the interest in it.” The 67-year-old, lifelong Ishpeming resident organizes the games, recruits the floor workers and handles the money. “I can see it dying,” said Barb Lusardi, who runs the Odd Fellows’ weekly bingo. ![]() Dan Kohtala, of Ishpeming, serves as caller during bingo night at the Odd Fellows building in Ishpeming on Friday, Feb. ![]()
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