Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Tuesday, October 11th was a great night for BINGO! New faces, familiar faces, the Nacho Daddy staff on their toes and as friendly as ever, Hurricane Jova looming off the coast and the potential for losing the electricity. I mean, does it get any more exciting than this?

The evening was a good start to benefit our October charity, Asilo San Juan Diego, the local senior citizens home. Many generous people not only purchased Bingo cards (well one rather needs them to play) but 50/50 raffle tickets and BIG raffle tickets, too. Food and drink were plentiful as usual. Nacho Daddy offered their regular menu as well as their specially priced Bingo menu. Something new was added especially for this evening... 2 X 1 HURRICANES! Go figure.

Hurricane is a deliciously sweet drink made from fruit juice, sometimes grenadine (which is made from pomegranates) and rum. Yum. Sort of a health beverage, if it includes grenadine. The drink was made popular in New Orleans back in the 1940’s by tavern owner Pat O’Brien. Apparently, rum was not all that popular back in the day and Pat was waiting on a shipment of the preferred whiskey and scotch. But, all he had was cheap rum. So, he invented the concoction to use it up. The sweetness disguised its unpleasant taste. Of course, there are other Hurricane stories out there. Apparently, the drink in the Bahamas is made with coffee. Next time, I’ll tell you the history of Bingo. No. Just kidding. Well, maybe not.

We got started a little late but that gave folks the opportunity to get to Nacho Daddy (street parking was not a problem,) and it gave the raffle ticket sellers (our own 50/50 chica, Carole, and the handsome, fast talking Miguel selling the BIG raffle tickets) the opportunity to work the room.

Finally, we were underway. Kind of. First, Tim introduced the evening’s sponsors... Lori of Rio Amapas Private Luxury Residences, Charlotte and Carole of Xocodiva Artisan Chocolates and Tim of PVRPV all volunteer their time as the administrative committee of Charity Bingo. Also, thanking all the volunteers, Robin, Miguel, Lina and Oscar. They coordinated with Asilo San Juan Diego to make the evening a success. Many thanks and a big round of applause to all of our volunteers.

I’ve said it before; playing Bingo is like riding a bicycle. With Oscar as the caller (no assistant tonight), the first letter/number was called... O 61. And we were off and Bingo-ing. Some people were playing four cards as they’d brought an item from the San Juan Wish List. For the most part, the list includes the normal necessities... toilet paper, rice, cooking oil, tuna in water, baby wipes, bath soap, etc... all things useful for operating a home for our seniors. Actually, the list is quite extensive.

The first game was won by Maggie Harbour. Go, Maggie! The winner of our first game of the season. Once into the second game, some of us thought that the rain had finally started. Nope. False alarm. It was the sizzle of a fajita platter cooking at a nearby table. Spooky. Sounded just like rain. Back to Bingo. Game #2 had two winners... Tom Atkachunas and Randy Haessig. Way to go, guys. During Game #3, we had our first fake Bingo as we like to call them. Eventually, we had a good one. The winner was Estela Garcia. Well done, Estela. Then, on to Game #4, won by Valentin Moreno. Bravo, Valentin.

Break time! Some of us ordered more drinks, others relieved themselves of previously consumed beverages while still others took their cameras and phones outside to photograph the stunningly beautiful sunset. Yes. You read it correctly. A sunset in the middle of a hurricane. Imagine that!

Then, we were back with Game #5 which was won by Robert Mahoney. Nicely played, sir. Our own Captain Doug Danielson eked out a win in Game #6. I was glad because he had been so close so many other times.

Right about then, Tim had the 50/50 raffle drawing. 1/2 of a kitty of $2,894 pesos was up for grabs. Tammy pulled the ticket, and the winner? ... Julie Guerrero from No Way José! The restaurant was closed because of the pending storm so she decided to join us for Bingo and we’re so glad she did.

Julie won $1,447 pesos and donated it back to San Juan! A very generous gesture, Julie. Thank you so much. That extra money combined with card sales and BIG raffle ticket sales brought the evening's total to $11,047 pesos! Imagine what we could have raised with more than 52 people in attendance. Next time, folks. I’m not kidding. There won’t be a hurricane or any excuse not to come out for Bingo on October 25. That’s a Tuesday, by the way.

Oh, and the BIG raffle... a one night’s stay at the beautiful Casa Isabel, dinner for two at Daiquiri Dick’s and a dandy bottle of sipping tequila... was won by Divina Angélica Andrade from Casa Hogar! Interestingly enough, we will be benefiting Casa Hogar during the November Bingo games. Casa Hogar is our local children’s home or orphanage. Thank you for coming out to benefit Asilo San Juan Diego. So, as you can see, the prizes are fabulous, and the fun just keeps on coming.

The gang at my table dubbed the 7th Bingo game “The Hurricane” because in order to win, one must cover all the outside spaces... a square or a circle if you will. The name didn’t catch on. Oh, well. The winner was Michael Gutierrez. Black-out bingo, the 8th and final game, was won by a person at a very fun loving table. Oh, they were having an exciting time. The winner was Tiffany Stevenson.

Congratulations to all our winners and to all the players. You people rock! And so do our bighearted sponsors:

Joe Jack's Fish Shack • HealthCare Resources Puerto Vallarta • Restaurante La Chata • Artepil SPA • Mail Boxes Etc • Cooling Ties • Deja New! Clothing Consignments • Restaurante Los Alcatraces • Flaveur City • Xocodiva Artisan Chocolates • The Coffee Cup • Cheeky Monkey • CupoCity • Lola Covarrubias • Ester Sanchez • Soccorro Macias • Margaret Souder • PVRPV • Daiquiri Dick's • Nacho Daddy Mex Tex • Casa Isabel Boutique Hotel

Your generosity in donating certificates and other prizes is greatly appreciated and helped to make our first Bingo night a success. All of the winners will certainly enjoy their prizes.

Remember... we will play again at 6:30 pm on October 25, to benefit Asilo San Juan Diego, the local senior citizens home. This is a very worthy cause and very important to the community. I would like to encourage everyone to join us at Nacho Daddy, Basilio Badillo #180 on the South side of Puerto Vallarta. We really have a wonderful time and it will be super to see a larger crowd next time.

Donations from the wish list can be dropped off during the week at PVRPV Pino Suarez #210 in Zona Romantica. Or, better yet, bring them to the next game and get an extra card!