WHEN Dalton hairdresser Christine Reynolds called ‘bingo’ in November 1993, little did she know she had netted £49,300.
WINNER: Cheryl Cutcliffe celebrates her £4,000 bingo win in 1997 with her children (from left) Adam, Sophie, Rebecca and Laura
Half an hour later, bosses at Barrow’s Cascade Palace bingo hall told her she had won a regional prize of £4,286 and she began celebrating with her mum and the two friends she had promised to split her winnings with.
But then the news came through that she had hit the jackpot and clinched the £45,000 prize in a nationwide game as well.
“I couldn’t believe it and I still can’t really believe it,” said Christine at her Intrim hair salon in Dalton.
Christine, her mum Jean Mossop, her hairdressing friend Pam McKie and Pam’s mum Linda Miles had been going to bingo at Cascade Palace for a year.
“We always split our winnings when one of us wins,” said Christine, 36, of Levens Close, Dalton.
BINGO: Irene Griffiths and Maria Apostolidis enjoy a night out at the Top Ten Bingo Hall at Barrow in 2001
In 1994, Walney pensioner Ethel Lanyon won almost £60,000 on a national bingo competition.
Ethel, 66, called house after 34 numbers had gone in a game at Cascades. She won the nationwide prize of £50,000 and that sum was topped up with the regional jackpot of £6,834.
A Walney grandmother scooped a £73,000 bingo win in 1997.
Anne Lauderdale, 58, of Vicarage Mount, was sharing her prize with her best friend Brenda Craig.
Mrs Lauderdale, who had four children and 13 grandchildren, said: “I’ve been playing bingo for about 16 years.
"This is the first big win. But I've won £400, £200 and the odd £10.
BARROW: Relief caller Ann Fouracre at the Top Ten Bingo Hall at Barrow in 2001
"I share everything, big or small, with my friend so I will split it in half with her."
When she realised she had won the national prize, the manager at Cascade Palace bingo hall on Duke Street, Barrow, gave her a stiff brandy to help her get over the shock.
The same year a Barrow mum was planning a foreign holiday for her family after winning more than £4,000 on bingo.
Cheryl Cutcliffe, of Provincial Street, won the money while playing at the Pavilion bingo hall on Roose Road.
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