Big jackpot brings out worst in bingo fans By: Ryan Thorpe Posted: 7:00 PM CST Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020

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This article was published 27/01/2020 (1697 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thousands of Winnipeggers will nervously bite their fingernails on Saturday when the Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo gets underway with more than $600,000 estimated on the line.

It is the highest jackpot ever for the weekly televised bingo game and it has led some Winnipeggers to catch bingo fever.

The Kinsmen Club of Winnipeg, which runs the event, said in a social media post Monday that people have been chasing the group’s courier in an effort to get their hands on the elusive bingo cards for the upcoming game.

“I will no longer post a list of stores in Winnipeg that are receiving deliveries. We have hordes of people driving dangerously, following our courier driving like paparazzi and putting him in danger,” the post reads.

“This is not cool at all. I can no longer share information here. I have directed our courier to come back to our office and we will continue deliveries secretly at a later time.”

The Kinsmen Club donates money made through the bingo game to various charities and organizations in Winnipeg and Manitoba.

The bingo cards for this Saturday are reportedly sold out at almost every location where they can be purchased. The Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo website appears to have repeatedly crashed in recent days due to high traffic volume.

The weekly televised bingo game—which runs on CTV every Saturday—is selling a record number of cards due to its high jackpot.

Last week, an estimated 40,000 cards were sold when the jackpot climbed to more than half-a-million dollars. This week, the jackpot is expected to eclipse $600,000.

In the social media post, the Kinsmen Club, which did not respond to a request for comment prior to deadline Monday, said it’s not only worried about the safety of their courier in Winnipeg, but also potentially of Canada Post employees outside the city.

“Seeing how people are putting our courier in danger in Winnipeg, I will not be posting any updates or answering phone calls about rural deliveries anymore, for fear of people doing the same thing to Canada Post,” the social media post reads.

The post also claims that people have gotten so worked up over the record jackpot they’ve started hurling abuse at Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo volunteers.

“If you are going to call our office and yell and swear at our staff accusing us of hoarding cards and playing favourites, I’m not going to share information anymore,” the post reads.

The Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo said it will supply a five-month card pack from Feb. 1 to June 27 for loyal customers.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe

Ryan Thorpe
Reporter

Ryan Thorpe likes the pace of daily news, the feeling of a broadsheet in his hands and the stress of never-ending deadlines hanging over his head.

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