BECCI Marshall was looking for some time off.
The university student and mother of two was in the middle of assignment week and her mind needed a break from the grind of her nursing textbooks.
So, with her six-year-old at school and her two-year-old at day care, the mum, 22, of Cornubia in Logan, headed off to Southside Bingo at Upper Mt Gravatt in Brisbane for a morning of pleasant, non-taxing mental therapy.
"This was my one day off and I just felt like getting out of study mode," she said. "I find it quite relaxing."
And she's not the only one.
On a Tuesday morning, Ms Marshall was one of about 50 men and women of all ages sitting at tables at Southside Bingo with their tickets and marker pens lined up in front of them.
It's a small crowd compared with night sessions when there can be up to 500 people or more.
Meanwhile on the other side of town, at St Joseph's Nudgee College, Boondall, 1000 regular players turn up for the Friday night session.
Bingo, no longer a game just for little old ladies, has reinvented itself and is relishing a surge in popularity not seen since the game arrived in the country early last century.
Ms Marshall is at the crest of a new trendsetting wave.
"I don't do nightclub stuff and I don't know how to play the pokies. This is more my thing," she said.
And there's plenty more like her, according to Southside Bingo assistant co-ordinator Mark McAuliffe.
"The crowd is definitely getting younger. A lot of people from about 18 years old are bringing their girlfriends and mates in for a night of bingo," he said. "We have a group of about eight who turn up on a regular basis on a Saturday night.
"On a quiet day when there's 50 or 60 people, the average spend is about $20 for a full session and the minimum payout would be $20.
"There's special feature games where the maximum payout is $100, but that's the highest."
Mr McAuliffe said many people played bingo as a social event rather than a chance to win big bucks, and those in the industry said there were few other forms of entertainment that offered such good value for money.
Even though it's enjoying a revival, Mr McAuliffe predicts bingo will get bigger still.
"The industry suffered a severe drop-off when the pokies were brought in, and then again in 2002 when smoking was banned in all bingo halls but remained legal in clubs," he said.
"We've managed to recapture that market, but there will be an even bigger upturn for the bingo industry and charities as a whole when clubs go no-smoking in the next couple of years."
Another who points to the inexpensive nature of bingo is John McKeown, who has been running the bingo hall at St Joseph's Nudgee College for 20 years.
"You can come and spend as little as $10 or as much as $40," he said. "The average spend is $26 and that pays for the whole night from 7.30pm to about 10.30pm.
"At a club, you put $20 into a poker machine and in half an hour you've done $40."
This is just one of the reasons for the resurgence of bingo.
"Against the challenges thrown at it, bingo has survived and is now on the up again," said Neil Madders, national sales manager for the industry's major supplier, Bingo Sales Group.
"The game is now attracting more younger players as bingo is played in a friendly atmosphere.
"The younger players want to see the action, see the winners, and at bingo everyone sees the winners."
Mr Madders said about 30,000 people a week played bingo in Queensland at one or more of 200 sessions staged in halls and clubs across the state.
He said there were a few reasons for bingo's revival, but the bigger prizemoney now on offer and the introduction of an electronic form of the game were the key triggers.
As well, a new Wednesday night Bingo Link syndicate has been established in Queensland.
There are 10 venues linked across the state playing the same bingo game with an instant cash prize of $10,000.
At venues across the state, thousands of bingo players with pens poised over sheets of tickets hope the next number to be called will net them the big prize.
"We send the game live from our server in our Brendale office here in Brisbane to the 10 venues so everyone's playing the same game," Mr Madders explained.
"As soon as someone thinks they've won, the person running the game (the caller) at that centre presses a button which stops the game. We then verify the winning ticket."
Also introduced this year were programmable electronic ticket machines.
Only available at two Queensland bingo halls at this stage, the machines will transform the old card-and-marker system.
Multiple tickets, up to a maximum of 48 games, can be played at once. The player simply presses the numbers as they're called and the computer crosses them off any ticket being played.
"The introduction of Bingo Link and paperless handheld electronic PETS are bringing the game of bingo into a new era," Mr Madders said.
He said the fact bingo games were increasingly being held in licensed clubs was another reason for its popularity.
"It's bright and clean. We're now in nice, modern surroundings with good facilities," he said.
At Southside Bingo, which is held at the Southside Sport and Community Centre, players can have coffee in the cafe or a drink at the bar before, during or after bingo sessions.
"Licensed clubs are now embracing bingo more than ever and are inviting charities, sports clubs etcetera to use their facilities for bingo and fundraising," Mr Madders said.
Bingo in Queensland can only be run on behalf of charities and non-profit organisations.
Southside Bingo alone donates $750,000 each year to organisations including Mansfield State Primary School, Eastern Suburbs Soccer Club and the Queensland Blind Association.
And bingo money has paid for the $2.5 million specially built bingo hall at St Joseph's Nudgee College but, more importantly, it's also paid for books, tuition fees, uniforms and more for dozens of needy students.
Originally called Housie-Housie because the winner would call out "house", this 21st century version of bingo is a far cry from those old days when a caller drew numbers out of a barrel or box and called them out with introductions like "two fat ladies" for number 88, or "legs eleven".
One part of the game that technology hasn't changed, though, is winners calling out "bingo" and, even when it's a small prize of $20, there's always a buzz of excitement for everyone in the hall.
