Big payday at super bingo
NWT commissioner's wife takes home $30,000 grand prize; Long John Jamboree raises enough money to keep annual winter festival free
Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, July 2, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
More than a thousand people came out in support of Yellowknife's annual $100,000 super bingo at the city's multiplex last Saturday afternoon.
This year's fundraiser was organized in support of the Long John Jamboree, which won a lottery to hold the event earlier this year.
The festival's executive director Nancy MacNeil, said she had never organized and event of this magnitude, but that it was a huge success. She said people were so excited to get a good seat in the arena that there was a line-up of 150 people waiting to get into the event before the doors opened at noon.
"It was insane. I'd never seen anything like it," said MacNeil, who is not used to attending bingos.
Once inside, bingo fanatics played round after round of bingo with prizes ranging from $500 to $15,000 until the final $30,000 prize was announced at around 9:30 p.m.
"Everybody pretty much clears out when they hear bingo," said MacNeil.
Marilyn Tuccaro, wife of NWT commissioner, George Tuccaro, took home the $30,000 jackpot prize.
"I was shaking, and my sister and sister-in-law were all with me and they were all screaming," said Tuccaro as she described seeing the fateful G-53 pop up on the big screen.
Tuccaro said she has played bingo all her life and usually goes to play with her family at the Tree of Peace once a week. While she has won some big prizes in her time, she said this one takes the cake.
"It's unbelievable," she said. "We're so excited. I didn't think I was going to be the lucky winner."
Tuccaro said she plans to share some of the winnings with her family, including her granddaughter who recently graduated from Sir John Franklin High School.
"She got a really good grad present," said Tuccaro, who will be buying her granddaughter a laptop of her choice before she goes off to university.
Apart from planning a vacation to Vegas next winter, Tuccaro said the rest of the money will be put into savings as both she and George plan on retiring next year.
MacNeil could not give a final number on how much money was raised for the Jamboree but said it will likely be enough to support the annual winter festival as a free event for at least the next 10 years.
"With any free festival, it's really easy to get tempted into charging admission just because it's another revenue source but I really believe very strongly that the Long John Jamboree is supposed to be for all Yellowknifers: low-income, high-income - everybody," she said.
