WELCOME TO BINGO WORLD: NEW 20,000-SQUARE-FOOT HALL WILL OPEN SATURDAY AT 323 N. CLARK

Like a pensive stock trader, Phyllis Marberry scans her pages -- lined up side by side -- waiting for the next number. Before it's even called, the big board lights up and her hands begin to move.

Her 57-year-old eyes scan quickly across the paper, her hands responding by dotting seemingly random squares with florescent circles of splashy blue.

"Darn," she says loudly when a man behind her bellows the word she despises until it belongs to her.

Bingo!

"Sometimes it goes that fast," Marberry moans, setting the 18 unlucky cards next to her Enquirer magazine -- "Condit did it!" the headline exclaims -- and multicolored bag of ink daubers.

Just like that, she's ready for the next round.

Marberry and about 250 others crowded the tables in the smoky main floor at the A.C. Brase Arena Building on Monday night. Men and women sat on cold, metal chairs, sipping coffee or Coke or munching on a complimentary bag of popcorn.

For many of them, bingo is not a casual game of chance, but rather a wagering way of life.

And starting Saturday, it's a whole new game.

New bingo hall

A new 20,000-square-foot bingo hall called Bingo World will open Saturday at 323 N. Clark, between the Cape Girardeau Public Library and the senior center.

Players at the Kiwanis Club-sponsored bingo game Monday were excited about what they've heard about the new hall, including the fact that it will feature padded chairs for up to 800 players, six boards to flash the numbers, and 17 television monitors to show the balls as they are being called.

"I heard the chairs are a lot more comfortable," said regular player Tommie Elkins, 32, of Cape Girardeau. "It may not sound like much, but I had back surgery, and it will make it easier on me. Besides, these things can take up to three hours and these metal chairs get pretty hard."

A glass partition will separate smoking and sections with an advanced air filtering system with total air exchange every 15 minutes.

Non-smoker Ernest Corbin Sr., 59, of Cape Girardeau, would consider that a bonus.

"It can get smoky as heck in here," he said. "Having a non-smoking section might open this up to a bunch of people who don't want to come out now because the smoke gets so bad."

A state-of-the-art sound system has been installed, including drop microphones so the number caller can hear the players yell "bingo."

While bingo players must now travel around town and sometimes to Jackson and Scott City to play, Bingo World will have bingo every night but Sunday in Cape Girardeau.

Each night will be hosted by civic organizations: the Kiwanis Club, the Elks Lodge, the Joint Optimist Clubs, Notre Dame High School and St. Mary's Home and School Association.

The Kiwanis Club will no longer host bingo at the Arena Building, and the Optimist Clubs are starting up bingo again after a five-year absence. Meanwhile, bingo will continue at places other than Bingo World, like the Knights of Columbus and the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

"We are very excited about the possibilities," said Larry Loos, the bingo chairman for the Optimists. "This hall is absolutely unique."

Exciting possibilities

The bingo hall is the brainchild of Tom Reinagel, who owns Kelso Supply and is a member of the Elks Lodge.

"There are all kinds of service organizations trying to raise money, and they were renting places," he said. "We just thought that it would be smart to build a place like this instead of renting."

Civic groups sponsor bingo to raise money for their organizations. In turn, they use that money on their social programs like the Optimists' youth-league basketball.

A non-profit group was formed to build and maintain the bingo hall, Reinagel said. If there is any money remaining at the end of the year after expenses, it will be donated to charity, he said. Reinagel would not say how much the bingo hall cost.

He does think that bingo players will be pleased with their new surroundings.

"We have all the electronic technology in the bingo world," he said. "This is going to be kind of like sitting at home, a real luxury place. I think people will find it to be real comfortable."

Jack Kuenne is the eastern district manager for St. Louis-based All American Bingo, one of the largest suppliers of bingo equipment in the state.

"This will probably be one of the finest and the largest one in the state," he said. "And there hasn't been a bingo hall built just for bingo since 1993."

Organizers hope the hall also will bring out first-time bingo players like Amber Peters, who had never played before Monday. The Southeast Missouri State University junior said she likes the game and would likely keep playing. She said she would probably go to Bingo World.

"I'm probably going to be a gambling addict when I get older," she giggled as she waited with the masses for the next number to be called. "I like to win money."

Area bingo

A list of bingo games played regularly in the area:

Cape Girardeau

* Knights of Columbus Council 1111

at 318 S. Spanish St., every Sunday

* Kiwanis Club of Cape Girardeau

at Bingo World, 323 N. Clark, every Monday

* Cape Girardeau Elks Lodge

at Bingo World, 323 N. Clark, every Tuesday

* Notre Dame High School Home and School Association

at Bingo World, 323 N. Clark, every Wednesday

* St. Mary's Home and School Association

at Bingo World, 323 N. Clark, every Thursday

* Fraternal Order of Eagles

at 321 N. Spring, every Friday

* Joint Optimist Clubs

at Bingo World, 323 N. Clark, every Friday

* Notre Dame High School Boosters Club

at Bingo World, 323 N. Clark, every Saturday

Jackson

* Knights of Columbus

at 3305 N. High St., every Sunday

* American Legion 158

at U.S. 61 North and Mary Street, second, fourth and fifth Thursdays

* BPOE Lodge

542 Independence, every Friday

Scott City

* Ladies Auxiliary VFW Post 6407

at 1408 Main St., alternate Sundays

* Knights of Columbus

at 28745 U.S. 61, every Thursday