A lot of bingo halls in the Pittsburgh area have watched their profits go up in smoke following Pennsylvania’s new smoking ban, saying the effect happened almost instantly.

Scott Perkins, of the Holy Spirit Parish, calls the numbers at Wednesday night bingo at the Millvale facility. He said the smoking ban has taken its toll and there have been a drastic drop in players.

“We’ve been losing attendance from 100, down to 30 and 50 people,” said Perkins. “They just lowered the admission fee because of smoking ban. Only nonsmokers are coming right now. That’s what’s supporting us, nonsmokers.”

Local churches and volunteer fire halls said they are also losing bingo money since Pennsylvania’s smoking ban took effect in September. Now, state Rep. Joseph Petrarca, of Vandergrift, is working on a bill to make bingo and other fundraisers exempt. “It does put a crimp in the budget,” said the Rev. Dan Whalen of the Holy Spirit Parish.

Whalen said there’s no denying the dramatic drop in attendance. “There was such a connection there in terms of time,” he said. “You have to believe in some sort of connection. We have to get them back.” Down the street from Holy Spirit at the Bauerstown Volunteer Fire Department, bingo night was canceled after years in existence.

Fire hall officials said it was likely the economy, combined with smoking ban, that led to the fall in people attending bingo night. “But if I know bingo players, it’s probably the smoking, because bingo players will find a place to play bingo,” said Whalen. “They’re pretty adamant about that.” Holy Parish has introduced lower admission fees and smoking intermissions to try to win players back, but now it also hopes Petrarca’s proposed ill will help answer their prayers.

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Online websites offer players a place play free bingo at any time of the day or night. There are a number of bingo games being played at any given time featuring players from all over the world. These websites offer players the chance to play bingo games strictly for fun or with the chance to win cash and prizes for each winning game. Whatever the individual wins from the games is sent to their home or placed in an account for future redemption.

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Many bingo tips are helpful for online bingo, while others are better utilized in land-based bingo halls. Bingo is a game of luck. However, below are some useful bingo tips submitted by visitors.

If you play bingo in a bingo hall, you’ll need to keep several things in mind. First, always be sure that you’re not taking more cards than you can watch. If you take too many cards, you won’t be able to follow them all, and if you do win, you won’t know, so you won’t get your prize.

Next, there’s no logical explanation for this, but it seems like in blackout games, the numbers tend to clump. If you want to take advantage of it, take cards that are numbered lower in the pack. Often the card number is listed in the “free” space.

Always be gentle with your dauber. Pressing gently will cover your space. Pounding the table with it will cause ink to spatter or the dauber to leak. The fewer players there are in the hall, the better your chances of winning. The flip side of that is that if there are fewer players, the prizes will often be smaller.

Be sure to be polite. If you’re down to the last number, no one else needs to hear that number shouted at them a thousand times. It’s considered rude to beg for a number, and it certainly won’t do you any good. Bingo is a social game. Buy a card for a friend or just someone sitting next to you once a night. It’s friendly, and they may well return the favor.

When you win, be sure to share the wealth. Give a lucky dollar to a few people around you. If they win on your lucky dollar, you may find a few dollars heading back to you.

If you’re playing online bingo, you won’t have to worry about daubers or people around you, but when you play online bingo at one of the sites recommended on reviewed bingo sites, you should keep some things in mind. For example, when you’re playing online bingo, you can have as many cards as you want, as long as the site has auto-daub.

Try buying cheap cards to get a feel for the games.

Be sure to look for the best deposit bonuses, and when you’ve signed up on a bingo site, check which games have specials. Some might have chat specials, while others may have extra prizes.

Be sure to check the rules of the deposit bonuses. A 20% bonus that can be converted into regular play money fairly easily may pay off better than a 500% bonus that disappears if you withdraw any of your winnings.

Don’t jump from game to game. You may lose your cards (and the money you spent on them) if you choose a new game before the previous one is finished.

Be polite on the chat. Enjoy the social part of playing bingo.