‘I gave my home a Makeover’
Louise Donnelly, 36, from Co Derry, used her cash prize to spruce up her new place...
Walking into my new house, I slipped off my shoes and popped them into my swanky new cabinet. No muddy shoes would be ruining my lovely new cream carpet!
I’d just bought a fancy new unit that had drawers to put our shoes in, as well as the new carpets, wallpaper and lamps in my hallway and lounge.
You see, a few months ago I’d had a jackpot win when I was playing
Woman Bingo, so I’d used the money to spruce up my new house.
It was September 2016 when I hit the jackpot. One evening I’d logged in to my account and bought tickets for the link games in both Tiki Bingo and Sapphire Bingo.
One number to go…
A linked game is a special event that brings together selected rooms, where you have the chance to win a bigger prize if you get the full house. That evening £1,000 was up for grabs. The tickets cost 10p each, so I’d only spent 20p.
I was sitting at my laptop and waiting to see what the next numbers were, when I realised I only had one number to go. The next thing I knew, 72 was called. It was my number! I’d won the £1,000 jackpot and couldn’t have been happier. I screamed – which caused my kids to come running in to ask what was wrong!
Once the initial shock wore off, I gave my husband, Mark, a call to tell him the good news. ‘I put some money on the bingo,’ I started. ‘And I won £1,000!’
Surprisingly, he didn’t believe me and I couldn’t convince him. I had to hang up the phone and take a picture of my account balance on the computer screen to prove I wasn’t pulling his leg.
What’s funnier is he knows what it’s like to win a jackpot, as he’s had a few goes on the site as well. He used to watch me playing and was so excited seeing the numbers being ticked off, and the jackpots mounting, that in the end he decided to create his own account. He mostly plays in Sapphire and was lucky enough to win £1,000 last year as well. But this time it was my turn to win. Eventually, of course, he did congratulate me and we talked about doing up the lounge with the winnings. We’d just moved in to our new house in August, but we needed to get some furniture and make the place our own with wallpaper and accessories.
I used the jackpot money to get
‘playing Bingo is my me-time’
wallpaper for a feature wall and my special shoe unit, as well as photo frames and a mirror to decorate the lounge.
I even had some money left over to put towards some cabinets for the bedroom – the next room on my list to decorate.
Home decor
Moving in was expensive and having some unexpected cash to help out was brilliant for all those home decor pieces.
I’ve been playing online for about four years now. I used to go to a bingo hall but as my husband works nights, it means I’m at home with the kids in the evening so going to the bingo hall isn’t as practical now.
That’s the great thing about playing online, you can log in whenever you want and play for as long as you want. I usually play Tiki and Sapphire, but I do like Double Bubble slots too.
I find Woman Bingo so simple to use and an easy site to get the hang of. Plus, you can play it on your laptop or on your phone if you want to, which is really handy.
I like to play in front of the telly, for a little bit of me-time. Though this was my biggest win so far, I’ve had lots of little wins before now, scooping £50 here or £100 there. I usually withdraw most of that money for treats like shopping and fancy meals out.
I never imagined I’d hit the jackpot, but it really has been great fun.
From buying the tickets to going out and getting all my beautiful new furniture, I’ve enjoyed every minute!