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Game involves friends, laughs and luck020
Roxanne Cooke
To many seniors, bingo is simply something fun to do with friends — no tricks or strategy necessary. But for longtime bingo player Myrtis Mason, from Puyallup, bingo is a way of life. She’s spent almost 18 years playing the game at the Sumner Senior Center.
“I’ve been doing it so long, it’s just a part of my life,” she said.
The bingo veteran, originally from Louisiana, also helps set up the senior center for the game, played at 1 p.m. every Thursday. It’s something she looks forward to.
“I love bingo and I love people,” Mason said.
Bingo keeps the mind working, she said. It’s a matter of finding the letter and number coordinate on multiple cards — Mason usually buys seven — and marking it. But other than that, it’s simply chance.
“It’s just a game of luck, really,” she said.
It costs 50 cents per card at the Sumner Senior Center. Prizes are usually practical household items like cleaning solution.
Like Mason, many seniors at the Puyallup Activity Center have been playing for years. Bingo there is free, and winnings include baked goods and novelty items.
Jackie Moats, who admitted she doesn’t win much, has played the game for eight years.
“It’s a break in the day,” Moats said. “It’s just something to do.”
On a recent bingo Thursday at the Puyallup center, seniors seemed to stamp their bingo cards in unison after a number was called.
“Wrong one again,” teased a senior to the bingo caller, Allan Saxton.
Marjorie Anderson, 80, said she’s glad there’s no money involved.
“That’s the way we like it,” she said. “I wouldn’t come if we were playing for money.”
Newcomer Ellie Fosness, who normally plays bridge and poker, said she enjoys bingo. She’s going on five months now.
“I play if I have nothing else to do,” Fosness said. “I like the people.”
Cecilia Barnett, a player from Graham, even brings her mother to help her with hand-eye coordination. And it’s a good thing the center plays different types of bingo — regular five-in-a-row, frame bingo, blackout — because it keeps it interesting.
“Otherwise even the seniors get bored,” Barnett joked.