End of an Era @ Bosco Tech

[00:00:08] Hello, and welcome to The Broke Bingo Addict. This is a podcast that ventures through the wild and crazy world of bingo. This is much more than your grandmother's bingo. My name's Shari, and welcome to this week's episode, which as always is for entertainment purposes only. Hey, everybody. Welcome to this week's episode of The Broke Bingo Addict. You know, I want to talk about something that happened to me this weekend, and that was I

[00:00:37] went to Bosco Tech out here in Rosemead, California. And this has always been one of my favorite places to play, but it's gone through a lot of changes. But to let you know some of the context of why it's been one of my favorite places back in, oh, let's say the lovely 2020 when we all got knocked out by COVID and there wasn't any bingo around to play, one of the first places that opened back up was Bosco Tech. That's how I found it, because I had never heard of it before. I'd never been

[00:01:06] there before. But I found out that they were playing bingo in your car. So I was like, okay, I'm tired of just kind of doing some kind of online stuff that was kind of pitiful. So now to be able to play real bingo, you know, winning money, playing pool tabs, doing all the things in my car, I was so excited and I couldn't wait to run out there. So it's actually, if you look back in my TikToks, that was one of my most watched videos was

[00:01:34] one when I was playing bingo at Bosco Tech. So it was great. It was a really nice place. It was a lot of fun. And it was managed by this guy named Paul. So one of the things that's happened is there's been a change in management and Paul has gone to another location. Paul is now at Montebello Christian School and somebody has taken over Bosco Tech. So I hadn't been

[00:01:59] there since the new transitions. This was my first time going back. And yeah, it was hard to say it's a different place and a different feel is a major understatement. So if you've listened to any of my other podcasts, I'm sure on many of them, I have talked about Paul and Bosco Tech and what's

[00:02:23] so crazy about it. And it just stands out because Bosco Tech is an all day bingo. Like a lot of the bingo places are about four or five hours. You can spend a good amount of your time at these bingo halls. But generally speaking, if you go in like about five, you're going to get out around 10. Or if you go in the afternoon, you're going to get out by six or whatnot. But Bosco Tech is a full day commitment. If you go play at Bosco Tech, you don't have plans for dinner, breakfast, nothing. You're

[00:02:53] going to spend your whole day there. And while that seems kind of possibly overwhelming for some people, that's actually what made it so special. And all the things that happened out there made it stand out versus a lot of other bingo halls out there. A lot of people might be familiar with 40 Martyrs down in Santa Ana area, and that's headed up by JD. And JD is kind of the same kind of personality that kind of makes the location. You know, 40 Martyrs without JD would be kind of

[00:03:22] interesting or kind of dull or just definitely different. It wouldn't have the same feeling or the same vibe. And I really feel that Paul did that for Bosco Tech. I just think about so many things that went on there. I think about when they had the summer shakeups, you know, they were really huge. They would have these two-day events and people would come from all over the place. People came from Hawaii. People came from Pennsylvania. People came from all over the place to play at this

[00:03:51] particular event. You had a lot of TikTok influencers that came there. You know, people like Cash, people like Tanya of Bingo Addict, Bougie, just so many people would come out here to play in those shakeups. I would be, you know, t-shirts made and, you know, days of fun seeing all these people that you see on TikTok or that you've played with in other places. I love it because we would make little gift bags for each other. You know, I had all these different little things I would put in bags. One

[00:04:20] of my favorites was I made one that had these little ducks in them that had like sunglasses and like cowboy hats on them. So that was a fun gift bag to put together. And you made these for like all these people. I made so many gift bags for all these people because you're seeing them and they're giving you things and you're giving them things and you're taking a lot of pictures and you're just having a really good time. So not only was it that, but Paul would always add things to

[00:04:47] it. There would be, you know, I think one time they had a bull ride thing where you could get on it and you could just ride the bull and fall down. And I just remember lots of people doing that and just laughing. I never did that. I was never going to do that. And then they'd have like specialty food or whatever. That's how I found tahini. I had never tried tahini before. And one day they had someone out there who was giving away these free like fruit cup things and they had the

[00:05:12] tahini on top of it. So that's how I found that out. And then they would have the photo booths. There'll be in another part of the complex, they would have these photo booths set up so you could take all these wild and crazy pictures with your friends. They had the one that was the 360 that went all the way around and you could have that and you could post it. So just generally speaking, just an awful lot of fun for these particular events. And I really enjoyed them because there was so much

[00:05:38] camaraderie and just general fun going on for them. And Paul usually had some pretty good payouts for these events. So you're getting more than you typically do. You're talking thousands of dollars that you would win either in just the games themselves or specialty strips or he had tons, tons and tons of pool tabs, which I know the people from Texas absolutely love. So these were

[00:06:02] incredible things. But beyond these special events, just in general, going out to Bosco Tech, some things that he had that I thought made it special was for one, he would always have at least three or four all play pool tabs. And the reason I like this is it is a long day. There are a lot of pool tabs out there and sometimes you just don't have the money, but you still want to feel like you're part of the people that are, you know, or having an opportunity to win some money. So knowing that there are going

[00:06:30] to be a few pool tabs available that you can purchase that are guaranteed numbers. So you could just spend four or five dollars and get that and know that you have a chance to win. Generally speaking, I think most of them were either 300 to 500 dollars. So that was nice. I love the fact that at the end of the day, after you've had this long day of playing all these strips, tabs and bingo games, Paul always gave out a free coverall. And that coverall, generally speaking, I think paid 500 dollars, but there

[00:06:59] were certainly times where he upped that amount, you know, to quite a substantial amount to win. So that was nice. He always had a king or a queen. So they would always do the thing where when you bought your paper, you always got a little raffle ticket and on that raffle ticket, they would call a number. And if you were that person, then you would be the king or the queen for the entire day, generally speaking, and you'd get 20 dollars anytime the number that you picked was called. But there was

[00:07:28] somebody who picked 22 one time and that sucker was called so many times. It must have been called like every freaking game. So whenever I get to be queen, that would be the number I would pick. I never had that opportunity, but I always kept that in my head. It seemed like 22 was a really good number to pick. And you always had a huge variety of pull tabs because sometimes people don't like to pay for the big ones. They don't want to pay the two dollars for the twenty three hundred ninety eight dollar pull tabs.

[00:07:55] I'm one of those people. I rarely bought the two dollar tabs, but I was happy to have all those dollar tabs available that you could win. And these days, the cool thing is that there are a lot of dollar pull tabs that actually pay a lot. But what I'm thinking about in particular is pocket money, which, by the way, just as a note, I think is so funny that pocket money is always so hard to sell out on because it pays twenty five hundred dollars. So think about that. People are paying two dollars for a tab

[00:08:23] that pays roughly twenty four hundred dollars when you can pay a dollar for a tab that pays twenty five hundred dollars. Now, in reality, I know part of the reason why it takes so long to sell pocket money pull tabs is because it pays so much for half the price to buy it. You've got to sell twice as many. So that's the explanation. But even still, I would think that tons and tons of people would be

[00:08:46] buying pocket money. But besides that, I'm just saying that Paul was really the life's blood of Bosco Tech. And I honestly feel that he did his best to make the experience as good for everybody as possible. Now, I know that there are people who definitely had a problem with some of the things that happened there. And all I can say is, you know, nobody's perfect. There's not a bingle hall in the world that works for

[00:09:12] everybody, that pleases everybody, that doesn't make a mistake here and there that causes some kind of conflict. And I just have to say that, you know, for me, I never really had a problem, but I understand that some people did. But I still miss the place. I still think it was fabulous. And to sit there and see how much it's changed, you know, how that spirit, how that energy, that uniqueness has gone away was really kind of hard for me. So what was different now is I went there, like I said the other day, I went and I played.

[00:09:41] And the place is now being managed by the same people, generally speaking, that manage St. John Bosco. That's another bingo hall over here in Southern California. It's actually in Bellflower, which is in a different area from Montebello, California. And it's one of the places I like to play. I love St. John Bosco. It's one of the places I play the most at. It's really nice. You know, you know what you're going to get. They're nice people. It's a nice buy-in.

[00:10:06] It's a comfortable location. And again, very predictable. And it's known for having one of the best birthday buy-ins that you can get. They give you a full $100 pack free for your birthday. Now, it doesn't even have to be your day of your birthday. It has to just be the month of your birthday. So they're very popular for that. And they get a lot of people coming in there. So I have absolutely no complaints about St. John Bosco. I'm just saying that it's different than what

[00:10:36] Bosco Tech was. So in my head, what I'm thinking is St. John Bosco is like being home, having a cup of hot chocolate and sitting in front of a fireplace. It's very comfortable. You know what it is. You're relaxed. You're not worrying about anything. It's very, very comfortable and predictable. But to me, for comparison, Bosco Tech was like going to the club.

[00:11:04] You were going to be out all night. You're going to be doing this. You're going to be doing that. A little here, a little there, whatever, all over the place. And just having a really good experience that you just can't have at any other place. And that's, again, what was so cool about it. You didn't get it at any other place. It was different. It was exciting. And, you know, it required a lot of commitment on your part to sit there and spend the whole day out there,

[00:11:29] which, again, I feel kind of bad about. As I just mentioned, I spend most of my time at St. John Bosco, mainly because it's a little easier for me. But I really wish I could have spent more time at Bosco Tech, especially now, now that the option to go to the Bosco Tech that I knew and love is no longer an option anymore. It just makes me even sadder that I didn't spend more time there. Now, what's

[00:11:54] happening, though, as I mentioned, Paul has gone over to Montebello Christian School. And a lot of people have gone there and a lot of people seem to like it. But it's a smaller place. I haven't been there. I'm actually going to go there this Saturday when they are technically having their summer shakeup. That's going to be different. I think because it's all new, because we're in the middle of a crazy transition, the notoriety, the hype that usually goes around these shakeups isn't happening

[00:12:22] this time, at least not that I'm aware of. And it'll be interesting to see the amount of people who do show up. I do know some influencers are coming in from out of town. They're doing it on a Friday and a Saturday, which in and of itself makes it more difficult because Friday is a freaking Friday in L.A. where you got FIFA and all that stuff going on. So it's really kind of a busy time for the town right now. So to get some people to come in on a Friday, I think it's difficult.

[00:12:49] Typically, their two-day event is on a Saturday and a Sunday, which I've always done both of those days. And to be honest, I'm not doing this Friday just for that reason. I just don't know how to get across to the other side of town with all the traffic and everything on a Friday, which is just generally busy anyway. But I'm absolutely positively going to be there on Saturday to see what happens. And I hope it's great. I hope things can build up. I hope we can have the same excitement, the same

[00:13:19] fun things happening over at Montebello Christian School that happened over at Bosco Tech. I hope Paul has the leeway to do the things that he wants to do. I already know that it's not as long of a day as it was over at Bosco Tech. From what I understand, it starts at five o'clock, which is already different because Paul would open his doors over at Bosco Tech like at 11 or 12. And again, you wouldn't get

[00:13:42] out until about 11 or 12. It was a day. So I don't know what's going on over at Montebello Christian School. They've had their Tuesday bingo for a while now, but it's going to be completely different to see this happening on Saturdays once it goes into full swing. But I have to say, I really kind of hope that Paul can bring it out. Whatever it is, I'm excited to see what happens. I'm excited to see

[00:14:06] the people. I'm excited to see Paul. And hopefully, like I said, that this can just be a nice transition from one location to another and hopefully bring in the same kind of spirit that he had at the last place. So anyway, we will see. But the long and the short of it is also is that it's very doubtful, very doubtful that I will ever go back to the original Bosco Tech. It kind of breaks my heart.

[00:14:32] Anyway, so before I go, I did want to do a quick update on House Bingo LAX, which is the newest place that I've been playing at. And one of the reasons I've loved it so much is that it's so close to my house. I really appreciate that. I am so tired of driving these far distances. I have put so many miles on my car. It is absolutely not funny. But anyway, I really like it. I really appreciate that it's there. I hope it does well. But there are a few issues for me personally that I

[00:15:00] think I need to say, just so people aren't surprised when they get there. So the number one thing that is different from House Bingo LAX and a lot of other places is that you cannot bring in outside food. And I really have a problem with this for a variety of reasons. The main thing being is that even though they have a snack bar and as a snack bar, it's pretty decent. It really is. They have like a $5

[00:15:29] deal where you can get like a hot dog, but it's a small hot dog, a bag of chips and a drink for like $5. That's a pretty good deal. I'm not knocking that. They do have a couple of those wrap sandwiches like you see at 7-Eleven or the airport, whatever, that are pretty decent sandwiches that are reasonably priced too. But there are a lot of times, particularly at bingo, where people like to celebrate their birthdays, all types of different occasions that people usually bring food in and,

[00:15:58] you know, do like a whole little spread and they do like a whole little celebration. But you can't do that there, all right? So that's one of the reasons I have a problem with it. But just in general, what if you've got an allergy? What if you can't eat the food that they have? I understand not wanting things to get messy or, you know, people to take advantage of things, but not being able to bring in your own food is really kind of a problem for me. And again,

[00:16:24] especially since you don't supply a larger choice because other places like who I've just mentioned, St. John Bosco has really nice food that you have a huge selection of things that you can choose from. Bosco Tech has a great food service there. Some of the best chilleriano you're ever going to get. Great tacos, hamburgers, and everything. So you have a huge variety of things you can eat. But even

[00:16:49] if you can't eat their food, you can bring food in. Again, same with St. John Bosco. I haven't ever played at a bingo hall where they wouldn't let you bring your own food in. So that's a big drawback for me because, like we've mentioned, for the majority of these bingo halls, you're there for hours. Sometimes you're racing there after work, so you haven't had a chance to get anything to eat. So you really want to grab something and bring it with you. And, you know, again, that option's not

[00:17:18] there. So I think that's a problem for a lot of people. For me particularly, I really do think it's a problem. What I've done recently is I've had food, like in my car, and I've gone to go eat it when they have a break or something if I've gotten hungry because I don't want to break the rules. I don't want to get kicked out if I'm playing, but it just sticks in my crawl. Now, the other issue I have is that they have these amazing hot balls. I'm not going to lie. They are amazing hot balls.

[00:17:44] They generally have two of them. They start at $5,000. They go up $500 per day. I've seen them go up as much as, what, $13,500. The lady just won the other night. So they're pretty hefty hot balls. But what they do is they make you pay $10 for each of those. So if you want a chance to win either of them, you got to pay $10. If you want both of them, you got to pay $20. And recently, they implemented

[00:18:11] another thing for a short period of time where they were paying for like your gas bill or your rent. But that was another $10 for each one of those opportunities. So if you did all of those opportunities, that's $40 right there. And I get it. Those are big payouts. I understand it. But for the majority of places where you play bingo in this town, the hot ball, cash ball, progressive, whatever you want to call it, is already included in your buy-in. Or there's just a small

[00:18:40] fee. And that small fee covers all of them. For example, they have a hot ball, cash ball, whatever you want to call it, over at St. John Bosco. But the $3 fee for that covers all three of the different ones that they have. So stuff like that kind of irks me. And I think people should be aware of it. I'm not saying it's bad. I'm not saying I'm not going to pay that. Did I mention they had a $13,500 hot ball? I mean, absolutely. I'm going to pay my $10 for my

[00:19:09] opportunity to win that. But I just thought I want to point it out to people to know that that's something that happens there. So you're not caught off guard. Okay? So that said, that's the end of this week's episode of The Broke Bingo Addict. I hope you enjoyed it. More importantly, I hope you'll come back for the next one. Thank you so much. Goodbye.