Mamma mia, I’VE WON

I spent my win on a magnifico Italian holiday and family celebration

Gossiping over coffee, I loved my new office. The staff were friendly and I fitted in easily.

But my newest office buddy had made me feel right at home.

We started going to bingo halls and on lunch dates.

She was a fast friend and I trusted her reviews on all sorts.

So when she told me about Chat Mag Bingo, I was intrigued.

I’d never played online before.

‘It’s so much fun!’ she said. ‘You could try it.’

I’d heard about Chat Mag Bingo. I’d read in the magazine about people winning. ‘Sounds great,’ I said. After my friend’s glowing recommendation, I signed up in March 2006.

The signing up was easy enough, and playing the different games was simple too.

I tried most of the games, just to see which ones I liked the most.

But, to be honest, I didn’t have a favourite. If anything, I loved the variety.

It was an assortment of bingo, slots, casino and much more, and that made each time I played somewhat different.

After that, I dipped in and out. Playing for fun every now and then.

It didn’t have to cost much – the site made it easy for you to set yourself a budget.

And while it’s nice to have had a few small wins over the

y years...‘it’s just a good laugh,’ me and my workmate agreed.

We still had our nights out too. Fun and friendship were what mattered most to us.

Then one day y at t the th end of

Fun and friendship were what mattered most

July 2018, I was pottering about the house.

With my kids home from their jobs, I was working my way through my to-do list.

‘Washing-up – check. Ironing – done. Dinner – finished,’ I hummed.

The list was complete, and I’d earned some me-time.

Putting up my feet with a coffee, I flicked open my laptop and decided to check out Chat Mag Bingo.

The usual game icons appeared before me as I scanned for my room of choice.

Then I settled on the Sapphire 90-ball bingo room.

It was simple enough, but the biggest attraction…it was nice and

cheap. The tickets were just 25p each!

I decided to buy a bunch of tickets, and was then ready to join the 9pm Super Link Game, where the Full House was £1,500.

While the idea of winning the jackpot was lovely, I didn’t really think about the win. Which was usually the case as I just enjoyed the camaraderie of the chatrooms and the fun of watching the games play out.

Slowly, numbers started popping out, and they were dabbed off one by one.

Before I knew it, I had two complete lines. I’d won just over £400. ‘Ooh that’s a nice figure,’ I giggled.

The last set of numbers passed in a blur.

One by one, mine flew in, and then…

CONGRATULATIONS!

‘I won!’ I squealed. Messages flooded on my screen with congratulations from the other players.

I’d often send congrats to other winners, and now I was on the receiving end.

I called my husband straightaway.

He worked away a lot, but I knew he’d want to hear my amazing news.

‘Ooh, we can put some of that towards our trip to Italy,’ he said.

We were going to Italy in September 2018 with my parents to help celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

It was a trip we’d organised already, but with the money from my win, I would treat us to some lovely extras when we were there.

So, on our Italian holiday, we raised a glass to my awesome win.

We really were living la dolce vita – the sweet life.

I would treat us to some lovely extras on our trip