Listen to this article:A grandmother and granddaughter had an incredible night, winning two jackpots at Mecca Oldham in consecutive games.
Twenty-year-old Amiee Armstrong and her grandmother Christine Rhodes, 70, were playing at the King Street club with family and friends on Tuesday 21 July when they both landed full houses in the Big Bonus game at Mecca Bingo.
Amiee struck first, winning more than £1,200, before Christine followed just moments later with a prize of more than £1,300. That gave the pair a combined haul of more than £2,500 and produced an almost unheard of double bingo win for the same family in the same bingo session.
When Amiee completed a full house in the Big Bonus game to win more than £1,200, she had no idea how much she had won. Christine then paid £1 to take part in the following Big Bonus game, during which she managed to repeat her granddaughter’s success.
Having two winners from the same club in consecutive games is unusual enough. For those winners to also be a grandmother and granddaughter made it an unforgettable night for the players and staff at Mecca Bingo Oldham.
Aimee said:
“I won first and didn’t even realise how much I’d won. Then Nana put her pound in and won straight afterwards. Everyone in the club was clapping for us – it was such a lovely atmosphere. We’re hoping to put some of the winnings towards a trip to Whitby for Nana’s birthday.”
Nick Cook, general manager at Mecca Bingo Oldham, has worked for the operator for 20 years but said the double win stood out among the many jackpots he has seen.
He said:
“I’ve worked for Mecca for 20 years and celebrated plenty of big wins. These two may not be the biggest, but they are ones that I’ll always remember. As the Big Bonus game is played across our clubs, the winner could be in any of our venues, so to have two in the same club is unusual, but to have a granddaughter and grandmother both win in such quick succession is incredible!
One of the best things about bingo is how it brings people together. Whether it’s friends, couples or families, it’s something everyone can enjoy – with the added excitement that anyone could be the next jackpot winner!”
Bingo has been a major part of the winners’ family for four generations. Christine’s mother, Joan, was a regular at Mecca Bingo Oldham and attended the club on its opening night more than 30 years ago. Christine initially started going to bingo with her mother before later visiting with friends. She has since passed the tradition on, and now regularly visits the Oldham club with members of her own family, including her son Bryan and granddaughter Amiee.
Amiee is currently at university but heads to Mecca with her family several times a week when she is back home. She explained:
“Whenever I’m home from university, we go to Mecca together a few times a week. I didn’t know anything about bingo until Nana asked me to come along. It’s actually quite hard to find something that everyone enjoys, but bingo brings us all together. It’s something we can all do as a family and spend proper quality time with each other.”
Christine added:
“Bingo has always been a big part of our family. My mum was a regular at Mecca Oldham and was even there the day it opened. Now I love coming with Amiee and my family. It gives us something to do together, instead of just sitting at home. We chat, have a laugh and make memories. We normally sit at our lucky table, but we decided to move that night – I think we’ve found ourselves a new lucky one!”
The Big Bonus is played simultaneously across Mecca’s network of clubs. Tickets cost just £1, and there are six games every day, with players at every participating Mecca club competing for the same jackpot.
The jackpot continues to grow until someone completes a full house within the first 44 numbers called or fewer. As the game is linked across all of the clubs, the winning player could be sitting in any of Mecca’s clubs around the country, which is why the two consecutive Big Bonus jackpots landing at the same venue are so unusual.
Christine and Amiee already have an idea about how to spend at least some of their combined winnings. The pair are hoping to put some of the money towards a trip to Whitby for Christine’s birthday, giving the family another reason to celebrate following their unusual night and winning two jackpots at Mecca Oldham.
There may also be a change to their bingo routine when they next visit. Christine revealed that the family normally sits at what they consider their lucky table, but decided to move elsewhere on the night of the double win. After more than £2,500 in combined prizes from two consecutive games, it is probably safe to say that their usual lucky table has some serious competition.
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