NINE lucky bingo players became instant millionaires after winning major prizes during the nationwide "Shower of Millions Bingo" event of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation held last June 12 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Thousands of bingo enthusiasts from Metro Manila and the 10 Casino Filipino branches joined the first electronically-linked bingo event. It was indeed a major success. PAGCOR awarded more than P12 million in cash prizes during the main games while a total of P1 million was given away for the warm-up and special games.

Five bingo aficionados who played at the World Trade Center brought home P1 million each. Meantime, three lucky bingo players at the Tagaytay, Cebu and Davao casinos also won P1 million each.

The best of luck was on the side of a player from Cebu who took home the P2 million grand bingo jackpot at stake for Game 10. The grand winner, a regular bingo client of Casino Filipino Cebu, pooled resources with her two friends to buy the lone ticket that won them the jackpot.

Meanwhile, two more players from Manila and Bacolod shared the P1 million cash prize in Game 1.

One major prize winner said he was reluctant at first to participate in the event. His ticket was only given to him by his aunt. “Ayoko na nga rin sanang pumunta dito kasi ang dami kong gawain sa bahay, pero sayang naman yung ticket kaya nilaro ko,” he shared. The instant millionaire was too overwhelmed that he couldn’t even stand to claim his prize when he won. “Napakalaking tulong nito sa pamilya namin at sa pag aaral ng mga kapatid ko,” he excitedly said.

Another major winner said she regularly plays bingo at the SM branch in Marilao, Bulacan. “Napakagandang biyaya ito ni Lord sa amin,” she said. According to her, a portion of her prize will be used for the medication of her ailing mother and for her daughter’s debut party. She will also donate a portion of her winnings to church and use the rest of it to renovate their house which is often damaged by flood.

Eduardo Lagman, PAGCOR’s Assistant VP for Bingo said the recent “Shower of Millions Bingo” is the first grand bingo event simultaneously held at the different Casino Filipino branches through the use of hi-tech communication equipment and videoconferencing technology.

Lagman said the event was a success given the huge turn-out of attendees. “The income we generated from this event surpassed the earnings from past bingo bonanzas,” he added.

He considers the event as a good benchmark for the conduct of succeeding grand bingo events. “We will never cease to look for ways on how to assist the PAGCOR management in attaining its targets while providing the ultimate bingo experience to our patrons,” he added.

“We thank those who participated in PAGCOR’s “Shower of Millions”. We are also happy to note that part of the proceeds generated from this event will go to charitable causes,” Lagman said.

According to Lagman, PAGCOR approved as bingo agents the Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc., Club Manileno for Youth, Inc. Rotary Club of Cebu-Fuente, ABS CBN Foundation Bantay Bata 163, and Philippine NGO Support Program, Inc. They got commissions ranging from 10% to 30% of the total proceeds from the bingo tickets they were able to sell which they can use in the furtherance of their various advocacies. “Initial estimates showed that these beneficiaries received close to P2 million from the event’s bingo proceeds,” he added.

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