Cambridge left without Bingo
1st May, 2009
Fans of Bingo in Cambridge will be sad to hear that the only bingo hall in the city will be closing soon.
The announcement, made this week by Gala Bingo, was that their bingo hall on Hobson Street would be closing in three weeks, on the May 25th. Gala also stated that the reason behind the closure was the decline in attendance, which they believe is a result of 2007’s smoking ban.
Unfortunately the closure also means that 13 members of staff are also like to find themselves unemployed.
According to one player, with the nearest halls as far as Peterborough and Bury St Edmunds, taking up online bingo is becoming more likely.
The Cambridge bingo hall has been running since 1972, after being converted from a cinema, and has paid out some big wins during that time. The most memorable being a win by an 82 year old in 2003 who won £200,000 on the national prize draw, and Mrs Cherry Hinton who won £10,000 on the national prize just two years ago.
A Gala Bingo spokeswoman said, “We hope to find jobs within the company for the 12 staff and manager. It is an old style casino and it has now been sold to a property developer. We will be able to give more details in the days to come.”
By Rommon
