Under the O, overhaul of procedures for Kinsmen bingo in wake of ball blunder

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This article was published 23/11/2018 (2857 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo and CTV Winnipeg have reached an agreement on a new protocol following the missing bingo ball fiasco on last week’s show.

The changes were triggered when an eagle-eyed viewer spotted a ball missing from the tray before it was dumped into the bingo machine on Nov. 17.

It isn’t known whether the ball — B2 — was ever in the blower from which the numbered balls were drawn.

The largest Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo pot ever of $372,229 is being withheld from the winner or winners until the Liquor Gaming and Cannabis Authority (LGCA) completes an investigation.

The Kinsmen said the missing ball must have already been in the machine because all the balls were retrieved after the game. The information was based on reports from CTV staff because the Kinsmen don’t have access to the studio.

In the agreement reached with CTV on Friday, the bingo caller, usually media personality Kathy Kennedy, will now run through a step-by-step dress rehearsal of the bingo cycle prior to the broadcast.

The host will load the balls onto the tray, drop the balls into the chute and empty it into the blower. The blower will be activated and the bingo caller will pull all 75 balls one by one from the machine. The entire process will be recorded on video.

"It’s something we’ve never done before," said Raj Phangureh, the volunteer chairman of Kinsmen Jackpot. "That will ensure there weren’t any balls left over in the machine from the week before."

It will also demonstrate that the blower is working properly and that there are no balls damaged in such a way that would compromise their movement in the blower. A complete set of backup balls are available at every game in case one is missing or damaged.

During the actual broadcast, there will now be a slightly higher, top-down camera angle to give viewers a clearer sight line to ensure all the balls are in the trays.

As well, the game will not commence until the Kinsmen approve. A Kinsmen telephone operator located off-site will inspect the tray shown on television before giving the go-ahead by telephone for the game to begin.

"We just don’t want a repeat (of last week). I think a lot of the time the easiest task becomes the most overlooked task," Phangureh said.

There will also be a single wide-angle camera of the host and the bingo machine recording the entire broadcast. It won’t be necessarily be aired, but will be available in case any anomalies arise.

As part of its investigation, the LGCA asked whether there was any extra footage before or after the broadcast, which there wasn’t.

"We’re really just doing this to cover all the bases. In some ways, I feel we might be going overboard but it’s better to be safe than sorry," Phangureh said.

The Kinsmen didn’t necessarily feel pressured to restore the Jackpot Bingo’s reputation, but the events of last week weighed on the minds of the organization’s members, he said.

"We would hope we wouldn’t need to save our reputation. I would hope that this is seen as, you know, the first time an honest mistake has been made and we were quite sure after the game that all 75 balls were actually in play for that game," Phangureh said.

The Kinsmen’s new policy will be in place for the Nov. 24 bingo, with the jackpot starting at $15,000.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca