Bingo Prizes from Sublime to Strange

There’s no doubt that there’s an amazing array of potential bingo prizes to be won both online and at your local bingo hall. Some of those prizes are pretty cool, while others may have players scratching their heads wondering how someone ever came up with the idea.  Here are a few of the cool and strange kinds of prizes that have appeared in bingo halls from around the world.

• A Milk Cow

In New York, one of the prizes offered at a charity bingo event was a beautiful dairy cow. There were plenty of players for this game and in the end, the winner ended up being a smartly dressed woman who came to collect her prize in a fit of giggles. There aren’t too many apartments in New York City that allow pets of this size, so it’s not certain where she or the cow eventually ended up. 

• What Will the Neighbors Say?

In a small town in Iowa, a local church bingo game offered a floating bingo prize that was a concrete lawn sculpture. The sculpture, in the form of a Billy goat, was painted hot pink. Whoever won the prize that week got to put the lawn ornament on their lawn for that week. They also got to have all of the bragging rights that went with it. The mysterious goat prize made the rounds for years it was ultimately washed away in the floods of 2008. 

• A Home of One’s Own

In today’s pared-down economy and sustainable living culture, tiny houses are all the rage. The Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City, South Dakota caught on to this trend and recently offered a two-story tiny home as the ultimate prize this past fall. One lucky winner got to have their very own house to put down roots anywhere they chose!

• Turkey Bingo

The Danish Society of California and Nevada has held its annual Turkey Bingo giveaway for the Thanksgiving holidays since 1914 when the tradition began. In the early days of this event, live turkeys, ducks and geese were tied up in burlap sacks. The tradition continues and last year over 60 turkeys and other grocery prizes such as entire carts of groceries as well as gift certificates to the El Ranch Marketplace were given out as prizes in celebration of the holiday season. 

• Beauty Shop Bingo

Cosmetologists, nail technicians and aestheticians often attend conventions to find out the latest trends in hairstyles and beauty trends. One way creative vendors were encouraging participation and an introduction to their products was to offer a kind of convention bingo. Those attendees that went to various booths and were able to block out those venues on their bingo cards were eligible for prizes that ranged from free tools, accessories and products to full product line displays for their salon. 

• White Elephant Prizes

Many companies, charity organizations and big families also hold their own bingo games with some rather incredible prizes offered – the only limit being their imaginations and the good humor of everyone playing. Some of these include tubes of bacon-flavored toothpaste, boxes of air guitar strings, sheets of bubble wrap labeled as a “stress reliever”, and boxes of mismatched hubcaps.

The most important part of bingo, no matter what’s offered as a prize, is to have fun. What kind of unusual or incredible prizes are being offered for bingo have you seen? Let us know in the comments.