A bingo hall building with a large illuminated sign spelling 'BINGO' against a colorful sky at sunset.

LET’S PLAY BINGO!

CHARITABLE BINGO

In the Spring of 1997, Phillip Scott, Owner and Manager of the Texas Pelican Bingo Hall, approached Chris Stewart, who was the Volunteer Coordinator for the Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council (SLAC) at the time, about conducting bingo sessions on Wednesday mornings at the Texas Pelican Bingo Hall as a fundraiser for SLAC. Chris, having had some previous experience with bingo as a fundraiser, thought it was worth pursuing. At the time, there were very limited administrative funds available to SLAC, so this seemed like a great opportunity for the agency.
With approval to investigate the opportunity, Chris, John Slade, and Paul Montalbano met with Phillip Scott to learn more about what would be involved in hosting bingo as a fundraiser. A proposal to sponsor a bingo session at the Texas Pelican Bingo Hall was made to the SLAC Board of Directors. The Board authorized Chris Stewart to proceed with the project of establishing a Wednesday morning bingo session at the Texas Pelican Bingo Hall and provided a loan of $5,000 in startup funding for the endeavor.

Two pink electronic bingo machines on a wooden table, surrounded by bingo cards, small toys, and a spray bottle, with chairs in the background.

Chris Stewart, John Slade and Paul Montalbano became informally known as the Bingo Committee and proceeded working with Phil Scott to learn the ins and outs of hosting bingo. Once the licenses had been obtained and the supplies purchased SLAC hosted it’s first bingo session on Wednesday, May 7, 1997. Initially all the bingo workers were unpaid volunteers. The bingo sessions proved to be profitable and thus began the longest running fundraising campaign of the agency.

An indoor bingo hall with digital displays and rules. The display shows a bingo game with numbers and a timer. There's a sign with bingo rules and a progressive bingo payout of $8800. The room has fluorescent ceiling lights and a counter with stacked trays.

In April 1999 SLAC added a second weekly bingo session on Friday late-nights, and in October 2004 a third weekly bingo session was added on Monday evenings. Through the years many changes have been made in an attempt to keep bingo as a viable fundraising activity for SLAC. In the first 27 years of bingo operations, SLAC Bingo has earned around $2.8 million in operating funds for the agency. Bingo continues to be profitable endeavor for SLAC.

A Louisiana Lotto ticket and a BINGO BRITE firecracker

Texas Pelican Bingo Hall
2211 Old Hwy. 90
Vinton, LA 70668

Contact Us: 337-313-5604

A row of colorful firework tubes with various labels and designs, standing against a black background.