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August 31, 2009
The bingo industry suffered another setback recently when Top Ten Bingo Holdings announced that they plan to close Empire Bingo in Neath, Wales. This follows Top Ten Bingo’s recently closure of the bingo hall club in Fleetwood.
Top Ten Bingo’s decision has come as a crushing blow to the regulars at Empire Bingo in The Ropewalk as many of them have frequented the bingo hall for decades. Said a member, on condition of anonymity, "I've been going to the Empire for 20 years and my mum has been going there for 33 years. We don't know where we're going to go now,”; a sentiment that is echoing across all bingo halls facing closure. The announcement was made during an evening bingo session this week.
Bingo halls across the UK have traditionally served as community centres for the locals and the closures makes one wonder just what it will do to the community as a whole. The member explained “It's in the centre of town and within walking distance. It's like a home from home for many of them. When the announcement was made there were tears everywhere. We're all gutted, really devastated."
The closure of the bingo hall will especially affect older members as they have been visiting the same hall for years. "A lot of people, especially the older ones, don't want to go to the Castle Bingo. They much prefer the Empire.”
During the announcement, members were informed that the bingo hall was closing due to several factors, the smoking ban and rising overheads being the main reasons. Once again, this comes as no surprise as those are the main reasons why land based bingo is being ruthlessly decimated all across the UK.
Mr. Mal Gunter who was a former town and county mayor was very sympathetic. He said, "I know people who go there and they are going to be deeply disappointed. It's not just about playing bingo for them. A lot of them live alone and for them it's an escape from loneliness."
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