We’ve been talking a lot about bingo lately, from its success at the Plaza and locals-focused neighborhood casinos to its impending return to the Strip at Circus Circus. But where did this game of chance start?
🌍 A Journey Through Centuries
Early versions of what would become bingo date back to the 1500s in Italy (“lotto”) before spreading to France (“le lotto”) and Mexico (“lotería”) in the 1700s — and our buddies at Pinches Tacos continue to celebrate lotería here in Las Vegas with regular game nights.
Americans got a taste for it in the 1920s when Hugh J. Ward of Pittsburgh marketed a version of the game, previously known as housey-housey. In 1929, toy manufacturer Edwin S. Lowe saw the game played under Ward’s rules at an Atlanta carnival, where players called it “beano” since dried beans were used to cover numbers on cards. Lowe brought the game to the masses by producing bingo sets, and its popularity exploded during the Great Depression when it was used as a fundraiser for churches.
🎰 Lowe’s Vegas Misadventure
Despite his success with bingo (a natural for gambling circles) and marketing a boxed toy casino set called Monte Carlowe, Lowe failed to seize the potential of gambling when he came to Las Vegas. The businessman opened the Tallyho in 1962 as the only hotel on the Strip without a casino, believing he could attract an untapped family-oriented clientele. He misread the market, and the Tallyho closed after less than a year.
The hotel was renamed Kings Crown Tallyho under new ownership, although the site would later become better known for two versions of the Aladdin and eventually, Planet Hollywood.
Lowe later acknowledged his miscalculation in Vegas, but made out just fine, selling his E. S. Lowe Company to Milton Bradley in 1973 for $26 million (or about $190 million in today’s dollars). Meanwhile, bingo would become a Vegas staple at casinos like Bingo Palace (now Palace Station) and Sam’s Town, the first to introduce electronic flash boards.
🤔 But Really, Who Came Up With the Name?
That’s up for debate — or maybe not. Some stories claim Lowe was playing the game with friends in New York when a winner shouted “bingo” by mistake instead of “beano.” However, documents show that Ward copyrighted the name for a rulebook in 1933, but never renewed his claim, leaving it open for Lowe. It appears Ward renamed housey-housey as bingo, believing the word was easier to shout upon hitting a winning combination.
Just like bingo, marketing is all about timing … and luck.
- The return of bingo to the Strip is just one way Las Vegas will look different in 2026. [Hey Las Vegas ✍️]
