Britain’s biggest Bingo brand Buzz Bingo has officially opened in Milton Keynes – with a celebration led by a 98-year-old Bingo fan and local resident.
Mary Peak has been playing Bingo at the Midsummer Boulevard club since 2011 and is the club’s oldest player. She joined the Buzz Bingo team on Thursday 7th February to perform a special ribbon cutting, officially declaring the club open.
The launch of the new club comes as new research reveals people in the South of England enjoy the comradery of Bingo and play to combat loneliness. “My favourite thing about coming to play Bingo is the social side,” said Mary. “I always used to love travelling to the club together with my friends – we used to go three times a week!”
Mary, who often spends her winnings on her grandchildren, has declared her upcoming 99th birthday in May as a significant life milestone, and is determined to get a ‘100th birthday’ telegram from the Queen. She continued: “Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to visit the Milton Keynes club recently due to my limited mobility, but I still play Bingo as often as I can in my nursing home, where I’m an ambassador.”
Arriving at the launch in a minibus driven by a staff member from the nursery home, Mary is now looking forward to returning to the club soon with a few friends. She added: “I had such a lovely time at the launch and couldn’t help but get emotional when the team presented me with an engraved glass plaque with my name on it and a bouquet of flowers – though I was very keen to finish my burger before cutting the ribbon!”
Local Marketing Business Partner, Mark St Claire said: “The club could’ve chosen a celebrity or footballer for their opening, but instead they wanted somebody who meant something to the club. That person is Mary who represents all of Buzz Bingo’s Milton Keynes’ customers past and present. The club team recognised this and decided that Mary is the ultimate VIP! It’s a truly fantastic gesture from a club built from its community roots.”
Buzz Bingo is the UK’s largest chain of Bingo clubs, with over 100,000 Bingo players winning nearly £3million every week. New research compiled by MIDiA Research on behalf of Buzz Bingo has revealed that Bingo fans are happier than most. It showed 70% of Bingo players said that they consider themselves to be happy, compared to 63% of all people. With social media fuelling predominantly negative news, Buzz Bingo believes that the nostalgic game could be an antidote to a deflated nation. More results from the ‘Bingo by the Numbers’ research can be found at: www.buzzbingo.com/library/bingo-by-numbers.pdf
Chris Matthews, CEO at Buzz Bingo said: “Bingo appeals to people of all ages, from all walks of life. It’s a fun, safe, judgement-free night out with games, dinner and drinks, all for less than £20. We designed Buzz Bingo clubs to make socialising and being part of a local community easy, and research shows that Bingo players are more likely to have a positive outlook on life than others. Our colleagues are friendly, fun and supportive, and always delighted to help you have a great night out with friends and family.”