Bingo has shed its image as a game for huddled old ladies eagerly anticipating the Bingo Master’s Sixty-Six or Ninety-Nine. A host of top celebs are now 21st century bingo nutters. The world’s most popular game of chance now has a glamorous new following.
Take That superstar Robbie Williams has spoken out about his love of bingo. Christiano Ronaldo uses bingo to help him learn English. And Catherine Zeta-Jones is known to like an eyes-down night-in of bingo action.
And why not? Bingo has been cheering up folk since the Romans invented it. The Internet revolution has simply made bingo more and more popular and accessible for everybody with so many bingo sites like Butlers Bingo which is home to the record breaking win of John Orchard of £5.88million from a 30p spin!
1. Catherine Zeta-Jones loves bingo so much that she even made her own set of balls and bingo cards. A bingo fan since her childhood in Wales, Catherine took the game to the States after her marriage to Michael Douglas. Every Christmas she entertains the family with custom-made bingo. Michael, though, hasn’t picked up the lingo yet. He still thinks bingo is a ‘bizarre game.’
2. Since marrying The Kills guitarist Jamie Hince, Kate Moss has swapped rock ‘n’ roll excess for bingo. According to close friend Sadie Frost, they now spend Saturday nights staying in to play bingo with their children.
3. Robbie Williams loves a bit of bingo. He frequently gets together with Take That’s Gary Barlow for a spot of eyes-down action. Robbie also plays bingo to raise money for charity. A fan of ninety-ball bingo, Robbie once played a game in Hollywood and donated a lot of cash to Breast Cancer Research.
4. Former Big Breakfast babe Denise Van Outen is well known to be a bingo fanatic. She’s often seen at bingo clubs in her native Essex. She likes to stick her hand up and shout ‘house’.
5. Bono used to have a stake in a Dublin café called Mr Pussey’s that doubled as a bingo hall. According to an insider he used to watch from the gallery while he entertained celebrity friends like Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington.
6. Russel Crowe has a love for the game of bingo. He still plays for a laugh, despite once being a bingo-caller in Australia. He got fired for making up ruder alternatives to the traditional bingo calls.
7. Real Madrid striker Christiano Ronaldo is a self-confessed bingo addict. His obsession started when he was given a DVD bingo game to help him improve his English. ‘It can be very exciting,’ he says, ‘because you can be there waiting for a long time for just the one number to make the game complete.’
8. Sharon Osbourne is not just a fan of bingo but an authority on the game. She even has her own website, Sharon Obsourne Bingo.
9. Friends star Courtney Cox likes nothing more than a game of bingo with fellow stars Paris Hilton and talkshow host Rickki Lake.
10. Mick Jagger is known to throw massive bingo parties at his house.