Emily Lau
Staff Writer
More than 20 students enjoyed a night of bingo and sweets as Alpha Omicron Pi raised $143 for their Arthritis Foundation philanthropy at its Candy Bar Bingo Night, Nov. 20 in LaFetra Hall.
Participants purchased bingo cards for a dollar each and were eligible to win baskets and bags containing a variety of candy. Raffle tickets were also sold for a dollar each and participants were entered into a drawing for four wrapped mason jars that were filled with chocolate and candy and a pair of tickets to the theater department’s musical “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”
Those who did not want to participate in the bingo games could still support the cause by donating a dollar and received a small bag that they filled with an assortment of candy.
“This is our largest annual fundraiser,” Faby Montano, vice president of external operations, said. “Everything goes to the Arthritis Foundation, our philanthropy, so this event is very important to us.”
Alpha Omicron Pi President Natalie Kubes stood at the front of room and read the letter and number as participants checked their cards for the matching combination. Because they were announced quickly, the combinations were also written on a white board for the players to check along the way.
There were six rounds of bingo along with two raffles. Some rounds had special rules that players had to follow to win. During the third round, Kubes announced that it was a blackout round, which meant players needed to fill their bingo cards from the previous round to win a prize.
Some rounds pronounced a winner within minutes while others took longer as players had streaks without having their needed combination called.
The fourth round called for players to have all of the outer numbers crossed out to form an “O.”
Players began to become more vocal about their frustration as yet another combination was called that did grant them a bingo. When a player announced that he had a bingo, the crowd shouted objections but rejoiced when he had mistaken one of the combinations and the round continued.
“It’s super frustrating when you are one away from a bingo, but the number you need is not called,” Victoria Walker, sophomore business major, said. “It happened to me many times – it was that evil G52.”
The fifth round was another blackout round and also the longest round. The white board was almost completely filled with combinations before a winner was announced.
At the end of the night, many players left the event with sugary treats and the sorority had funds for its philanthropy.
“It was a pretty good turnout,” said Carmen Ramirez, senior sociology major and member of the philanthropy planning committee. “My main concern was just having everything prepared in time.”
Emily Lau can be reached at emily.lau@laverne.edu.
