Just When You Thought The Bingo Halls Were Safe

When most people think of heists, one of the first thing that comes to mind is the robbery of large casinos during games of poker or blackjack. But many people do not realize that there is oftentimes more excitement during a game of Bingo. Criminals sometimes target bingo halls because they are easy to steal from and often not guarded nearly as closely as a large casino would be. Here are 10 cases in which a friendly game of Bingo became anything but friendly.

1. When the police lose it

A police officer in Europe, Matthew Brakewell, arrived at bingo hall on a mission that he called "Operation Phoenix." He told the employees at the bingo hall that a group of robbers was targeting bingo halls, and that he had arrived to help out. He informed them he would put tracking devices in the bags of money. However, instead of placing devices into the bags, he took the money from the bags and got away with more than 2,000 British pounds.

Brakewell was caught on tape and the tape was given to other bingo halls in the area. When he was spotted by a bingo employee who alerted the police, he held off the police at gunpoint with a fake gun. After finally surrendering, he was sentenced to serve four years in prison for his "ingenious" idea.

2. Electronic Cheating

In 2002, one of the biggest scandals in Vegas that year actually had to do with Bingo. A programmer named Brett Keaton set up a system on the electronic Bingo machines in Las Vegas that allowed him to play more cards then he had paid for. Keaton was soon found out. He jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, committing suicide, after he found out he was the focus of an investigation for his crimes in Vegas.

3. B-I-N-Get down on the ground O!

A night of Bingo became traumatic for a number of people in Pontiac, Michigan in April 2009. As three bingo hall workers left work in the evening, they were forced to lie on the ground and then had guns pointed at their heads. They were robbed of the money they had, which included that night's earnings Although one of the wallets that was taken was later found, police were unable to find the robbers.

4. Injuring Grandmas

The people who robbed a Bingo gaming facility outside of the Albuquerque, NM in 2006 not only robbed the place, but they were downright rude. The armed robbers entered the facility with black stockings on the faces and demanded money.

In addition to stealing money, one of the thieves shoved Dolores Dillard to the floor as she was leaving her wheelchair. She fell to the floor of the facility and was injured.

The robbery was done by three individuals. One person stayed outside to distract a security guard, while two others entered the facility to take the night's earnings. The three suspects were never caught.

5. Inside Job

A group of operators in a Bingo palace in Illinois were charged in 2002 of skimming more than three million dollars from the Bingo palace. The group used Italian American War Veterans posts as covers for their illegal gambling operation. The organizations, however, had no knowledge of this. From the group of 10 who were charged, six of the defendants were at least 69 years old.

Among the group charged was the son of a man with mafia ties, and a former politician in the city of Chicago who was investigated for being paid for work he did not do.

6. Brazen Bingo

An attempted robbery of a Bingo facility in Spain in 2009 caused a big stir. At about 12:30 AM early on a Saturday morning, approximately 20 police cars converged on the Bingo hall after a number of robbers held up Bingo customers in the club as well as in the parking garage. The thieves pointed guns at the heads of the victims and demanded money. The thieves were able to escape before police arrived with an unknown amount of money.

7. Early Bird Bingo Robbery

A Bingo club was held up in Bradford, England when armed robbers dressed in baklavas (the masks - not the Greek food) entered the gala Bingo club with knives and machetes. The assailants entered the club around 7 p.m. on an October evening and threatened the staff. They were able to take an undisclosed amount of money. Nobody was hurt. Some suggest that the robbery was not well thought through, because there would not have been much money to take because the robbery occurred before much money could have exchanged hands.

8. Thou Shalt Not Play Bingo on Sunday

The Walker County Sheriff's Department raided an electric bingo hall in Jasper, Alabama for being open on a Sunday. The arrest was something of a technicality. Although it is legal to play Bingo until 11:59 PM on Saturday in Jasper, once the clock strikes 12 a.m. Sunday, Bingo becomes illegal. The sheriff's department received a tip after midnight that the games were still going on, and busted up the games at 12:35 a.m. Sunday.

9. Bingo Robbers Impress Victim

Two men with masks and pistols entered the Denton Bingo Hall on a January evening in 2008 and took the proceeds from that night's games as well as the purses from two women. One of the victims, Judy Good, said, "I don't want to compliment them, but they knew what they were doing."

There were only two employees and two customers in the building when the men entered around 10:30 p.m. The thieves moved all of the people into one room and had them lie on the floor on their stomachs. The amount of money that was taken was unknown.

10. Bingo Robbers Impress Victim

A robber entered a Bingo parlor in Pensacola, Florida and ordered that the small group give him their money. In order to accentuate his point, he used his pistol to fire a shot into the ceiling. One of the people at the facility, fearing for his safety and safety of others in the building, took out his pistol (for which he owned a concealed weapons permit) and swiftly shot the would-be thief in the chest. The thief went down and was unable to fire another shot. The shooting bingo player was not charged and was called a hero.