"Absolutely it’s worth the space," says Boyd Gaming spokesman David Strow. His company has four bingo rooms, including Nevada’s largest, at Gold Coast, which will be revamped and remodeled this year. "These are very important amenities to us," says Strow, in part because bingo has an extremely loyal and frequent customer base that will play several times a month or even a week. Furthermore, they don’t just come for bingo but hang around to eat or play slots. "They are key traffic generators. It’s definitely not a loss leader," Strow says of the group's bingo program.
Bingo may seem unimportant because you can’t find it on the Strip (even the novelty PRIDE Family Bingo session, formerly hosted by Circus Circus, recently relocated downtown to the new Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada. a.k.a. The Center). During Andy Choy’s presidency at the Riviera (2011-2014), he experimented with a bingo room. But it drew so poorly that daily sessions were cut back to monthly tournaments, then the game was eliminated altogether. Even downtown, bingo's only home these days is at the Plaza. But it continues to flourish off-Strip, with both Green Valley Ranch and the Rampart recently having added bingo rooms, the former replacing a popular lounge that played home to some of the city's more talented acts. As one of our editors observed, "On the rare occasions I’ve played bingo, the sessions have always been packed." Even a run-of-the-mill, late-afternoon game will draw a respectable crowd and special promotions can generate a line out the door, as we’ve observed at Sunset Station. For a complete list of bingo rooms and session times, see the feature in our Gambling Advisor section.
