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VFW Post 2550, one of the first in Dunedin to ban smoking, has seen its attendance climb.
By EILEEN SCHULTE
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 28, 2003
DUNEDIN -- Buddy Venello was tired of coming home smelling "like a smoked fish."
For 20 years during his bingo night shifts at the VFW hall, a cloud hung over the room like a stinky fog and it attached itself to him.
It was filmy and white, and got thicker as the games ran long into the night.
Visibility?
It was just a few feet at times.
Other nonsmoking players ignored their watery eyes and coughed their way through the evenings, trying to win the $250 jackpots.
Then, three years ago, there came a shocking announcement: No more smoking would be allowed during bingo at the VFW Post 2550 on Douglas Street in Dunedin.
The players inhaled, soaking in the news for a moment.
Then "there was applause," said Tom Lindsey, a bingo caller.
But a few players choked on the announcement.
"It upset the smokers," Lindsey said. "A couple did not come back."
"The idea was that some people were bothered by (smoking)," Lindsey said. "Organizers thought they might get a bigger crowd without it."
The risk paid off. Before smoke-free bingo, the post averaged about 80 players every Saturday night. Now they get about 100.
"The majority of the people didn't smoke, and most were happy," said Buddy Venello, 80, the bingo chairman. "The air is now a lot better and stays fresher.
"I used to have to put my clothes right in the laundry after bingo night."
Lindsey said the club was one of the first in Dunedin to go smokeless. Games at Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Friday nights and at St. Michael's Catholic Church on Monday afternoons are also smoke-free.
Bingo is a game of chance, popular especially among older people. During the games, a player uses a set of cards with numbers printed on them. The bingo caller shouts out numbers printed on balls that are selected at random from a container. The players attempt to mark off matches in five different rows to spell out "bingo." They can arrange horizontal, vertical or diagonal lines. If the players mark the numbers called, they shout "bingo," and win a prize.
The games are often cutthroat. Players often work several cards simultaneously to increase their chances of winning.
A law prohibits a cash prize of more than $250 at bingo games, or it's considered gambling, which is illegal.
So what do the smokers do to ease their cravings during bingo nights?
"A bunch of them go outside and have their last cigarette before the 6:30 p.m. start," Lindsey said. "They get that last puff before bingo."
-- Eileen Schulte can be reached at (727) 445-4153 or schulte@sptimes.com .
You can win up to $250 at smoke-free bingo every Saturday night at the VFW Post of Dunedin No. 2550, 360 Douglas Ave., Dunedin. For $4, you can buy 10 cards. There are also early bird specials (game sheets cost 25 cents each). Early bird games start at 6:30 p.m. For information, call Tom Lindsey at (727) 733-6108.