by Mercedes J
Bright lights, loud music, free drinks, and people dancing their asses off. No, we aren’t at an NSU undergrad house party, we are playing bingo. But not your Nana’s type of bingo, a new wave of energetic, glow stick fist pumping fun called Cosmic Bingo at The Seminole Casino Hollywood. Every Friday night at 10pm, ten bones will get you 12 bingo cards and two free drink tickets. Proclaim “Bingo!” simultaneously with a fellow competitor and expect to dance your way to win the cash prize. The bingo dance party attracts quite an eclectic crowd and it is an experience you definitely don’t want to miss. Here are some of the highlights from my recent visit to Seminole Hollywood Casino:
What I love about Cosmic Bingo:
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Tons of prizes and free stuff – Twelve bingo cards means 12 games and 12 cash prizes worth $100 each. Not to mention they host two general dace offs for anyone who wants to give it a go, one at the beginning of the night and one at intermission for a cash prize. As previously mentioned, you also receive two free drink vouchers. Be sure to check the floor – you are likely to find more blue stubs warranting you additional booze. But that’s not all; the energetic DJ will throw 100s of free glow-in-the dark jewelry from his ivory tower to your grasping hands.
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The Dance offs – If you tie a competitor during a bingo game, you will need to win over the audience with your best dance moves in order to claim the cash prize. When I was there, the first bingo tie resulted in a dance off between a 20 something male and a 50 something woman. The DJ introduced the dueling couple as “woman versus you, the dude who has no chance.” The second dance-off was between an 80-year-old man wearing suspenders who dropped it lower than the interest rates of 2005. How he didn’t break a hip continues to astound me, but he won $300 for those moves.
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Smoking – Bring your favorite pack of ciggies, because you can smoke your face off at the Casino. There is an ash tray every four feet and one on every bingo table.
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Clean toilets – I heart a toilet with an automatic rotating plastic thingy, one can rejoice in the fact that you can sit on the john without any sanitation worries. But I have one question, is there an endless supply of clean plastic in that automatic rotating thingy or is the plastic seat cover just going around in circles? Let’s hope for the former.
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Great elbow room at the spacious tables – I couldn’t get over how much space each individual had at the long rectangular tables. Even if you weigh 1000 pounds, you will not touch the person beside you. Think of it as your own personal dance/bingo zone.
A few cons:
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The doors to the bingo room remain closed until 10pm. This means that droves of eager bingo players are lining up and anxiously waiting to get their groove on. As I impatiently stood in line to enter the room, I had a horrific flashback of the similar cow herding that occurred during my last flight on Southwest Airlines. Yuck.
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I hate to complain about free booze, but I need to be honest about the alcohol at Cosmic Bingo. The putrid libations will leave a bitter taste in your mouth, literally. Remember the handle bars of Aristocrat that as an underage drinker you convinced the homeless guy standing outside of the liquor store to buy for you? Yes, the alcohol at Cosmic Bingo is that bad — similar to that of a REALLY low budget wedding, keg beer and all.
As my Cosmic Bingo evening came to a close, I looked across the table to my new friend Mindy, as she yelled “This is the best $10 I have ever spent!” I agree Mindy, Cosmic Bingo is the TRUTH!
Seminole Casino Hollywood
4150 N State Rd 7, Hollywood
954-961-3220
