Derek Neary
Northern News Services

FORT SIMPSON (Jan 29/99) - Through the magic of television, every Tuesday and Thursday night people in Fort Simpson can turn their sets on to Channel 9 and dab away to their heart's content.

Those nights, plus an occasional Saturday evening, are the domain of TV bingo.

Tom Wilson has been involved with TV bingo almost as long as it's been in existence in Fort Simpson, about four or five years. He and other volunteers make their way over to the Dehcho Hall on those select evenings, where they operate out of a small room with a noisy bingo-ball machine, a computer, a video camera and a telephone.

Seeing as bingo is one of the major ways that many community groups and organizations raise money, Wilson said he initially got involved because his own children were active in sports and needed to obtain funds for trips. Now he remains involved to help other youths in the community.

"Many of the kids wouldn't get to travel if it weren't for (TV bingo)," he said. "Does it bother me to spend an hour to an hour and a half (volunteering)? No. I'd probably be home watching TV anyway."

Among the groups that benefit from the event are minor hockey, figure skating, youth soccer, the TSS Nahanni rafters students, the graduation committee, the Beautification Society and the Beavertail Jamboree committee. The TV air time is made available free of charge by Senga Services.

The bingos start at 6:30 p.m. every evening. Wilson shows up about 20 minutes early, and has begun a pre-game ritual called "Birthdays and other stuff," which sees him type some local birthdays across the screen, or just some trivia or jokes that he finds on the Internet.

"A lot of people like to wish other people happy birthday and call in. They enjoy it," he said.

When things get rolling, people are either just sitting down to dinner or just finishing, said Wilson. By staying home and playing for half an hour to 45 minutes, people don't have to find a babysitter for their children either, he suggested.

"Mind you, nobody uses the phone at home for half an hour," he said, laughing.

Although there have been some technical glitches over the years, such as trouble with the phone lines or power outages, Wilson said the core number of players seems to continually grow. He added that there are some "closet" players in there too -- people you'd never see at a bingo hall.

With jackpots reaching the $1,900-mark, there have also been some very happy winners out there, Wilson acknowledged. The happiest customer he can recall was a lady who collected $100 and said it was the first time she won in 20 years.