Bingo Much Less Competitive Lately

BENTON HARBOR, MI—Admitting with a sigh that it wasn’t nearly as fun to play the game against so few people, 86-year-old nursing home resident Delores Lee told reporters Wednesday that bingo had been a lot less competitive lately. “There’s just me and three other players left at this point, so you know ahead of time you’re bound to win a game or two,” said Lee, adding that before the pandemic devastated the assisted-living facility, there were dozens of big competitors who played multiple cards simultaneously and brought their own personal daubers to mark off the numbers. “Not a lot of suspense to it these days. I don’t even bother setting up my lucky Troll dolls anymore, considering Artie’s basically too deaf to hear the calls and Gloria’s arthritis makes her slow with a marker. Now when I win a prize, I just throw the teddy bear or whatever it is in a pile with all the rest.” Lee later wondered aloud whether her grandchildren would still be young enough to enjoy playing with stuffed animals the next time she saw them.