Woman’s Own Bingo
Sylvia West, 63, from Norwich, enjoyed a few holidays with her surprise jackpot win
Sitting on the sofa with my husband, Michael, 65, I watched him flick through the channels for what seemed like forever. Eventually settling on a documentary, I rolled my eyes – I wasn’t a fan of the documentaries he liked to watch. But it was far too early for bed.
Tucking myself under a nearby blanket and making myself nice and comfortable, I reached over to grab my laptop and fired it up. Once I was logged in, I watched as Woman’s Own Bingo loaded up on my screen.
Playing for fun
I’d signed up in July 2017 after coming across an ad online, loving the sound of the games. I’d always enjoyed bingo – it was something I’d played in the halls before, but I was never bothered about the big wins, I just played for fun.
You see, for me, bingo, wasn’t about the big cash prizes or even the smaller cash prizes. It was all about taking part in the game itself.
I’d been a member of Woman’s Own Bingo for 10 months and, each time I played, I opted for my favourite game – Tiki Bingo. Why did I love Tiki the most? Well, I liked the ease of the game with the familiar bingo tickets and taking it row by row, just like in the bingo halls.
Tiki Bingo is a 90-ball bingo game, with tickets from 1p. You can win cash prizes for one line, two lines or the Full House.
Great community
I’d also chat with other bingo players in the chatrooms about all kinds of topics, have fun and, if anyone won, we’d celebrate by sending each other congratulatory messages.
As I purchased my 36 tickets, costing me a total of 36p, in May 2018, I never dreamed it could be me receiving messages of joy soon.
Hearing the telly in the background, I followed the game closely as my numbers were ticked off one by one. I won nearly £8 for two lines and, before long, I had just two numbers left to get a Full House.
Seconds later my screen was filled with a rainbow of colours and then I noticed the word ‘WINNER’ flashing on the screen. I imagined someone else had won and therefore the game was over, but then I got a string of messages in the chat room. All for me. ‘Congratulations!’ they read.
Holiday time!
I picked up my laptop to show Michael. ‘I won, I won!’ I cried. ‘Oh, that’s brilliant, love,’ he smiled, thrilled for me.
I’d won a whopping £1,736! Not only the Full House, but the progressive jackpot too, because I won the Full House within a set number of ball calls!
I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my amazing Woman’s Own Bingo win – travelling! The money was more than enough to pay for two five-day coach holidays in the UK. We visited Wales and then Northumberland.
I never expected to win but it was such a lovely surprise. I still enjoy playing bingo just for the fun of the game and the chat rooms. Woman’s Own Bingo is an amazing site for many different reasons and it is great to be part of it.
‘For me, bingo is all about taking part in the games’