Bingo still a hit in Lisle

Seniors have been playing bingo on Monday mornings in Lisle for 15 years.

But nowadays, those familiar tumbling balls tumble no more. Instead, Debbie Breihan, Lisle Park District activities director, holds a small battery-operated plastic box that announces the next random number with just the push of a button.

"B2" she repeats, loud enough for the 50 or so seniors gathered at the Meadows Center who are eagerly waiting for the number that might make them the next winner.

Helen Kos of Darien gleefully accepts the $1 payout for her third bingo of the morning and puts it with the rest her morning's winnings - $4 in total. One bingo was a "double."

She cringes when asked if she'll declare her winnings to the IRS.

"Don't report me!" she pleads, laughing.

The Monday games aren't your great-grandmother's standard game of bingo.

The seniors now play a dazzling variety of number patterns with names like layer cake, two 6-packs, four postage stamps and razzle-dazzle.

The women all agree they're attracted not by the chance to win - although that doesn't hurt - but by the opportunity to get out of the house and visit with friends.

Their conversation is spirited, but only between games. Once the numbers start spilling out of Breihan's number box again, talk stops and an air of complete concentration descends on the room until the next bingo.