Bingo at Main Prospect in Southampton Draws Big Crowds and Big Pot

“Spin the wheel!” emcee Brian Tupper told a bingo winner. “You could get a bottle of rose or a $50 gift certificate.” She didn’t. Monica Williams is a nurse in Southampton. She won a beer. And an extra shot at the grand prize, which on this particular Thursday was over $1200.

Welcome to Bingo Night at Main Prospect in Southampton. They’ve been doing it for almost two months. And it’s become so popular they had to move it from the smaller bar area to the main dining room.

“This is my first time and it was really fun,” Williams said. “I’m not usually lucky, but I won tonight.”

She was with coworkers Rick Bolander and Tabatha Hite.

“It’s a great social atmosphere,” Bolander offered.

“And the food is great,” Hite chimed in.

They had the artichoke dip.

“There are a lot of trivia nights out here, so it’s fun to change it up,” she added. For the record, Main Prospect also does a Trivia Night, hosted by Tupper on Friday nights.

The stakes aren’t as high for trivia because the bingo game operates legally as a pari-mutual game meaning all the money taken in is given away at the end of the night.

On this night that meant a new record high of $1240. Participants buy five game cards for $10. Four regular games with small prizes all lead to the final cash game.

Some people buy more than one book. A supplied ink blotter keeps the action moving. Still, some folks with a lot of cards can yell, “Hey, slow down.”

The crowd heckles Tupper several times. He is quick with the pithy bingo comebacks. Win or lose, everybody seems to be having a good time.

“People are truly loving it,” says owner Binh Douglas. “Nothing beats winning some serious money but the real jackpot is being together,” he adds.

Maybe, but this reporter who played, you know, just to get a feel for it, came close to winning two games.

Next time, Tupper, call “G 57” sooner.

Someone who clearly didn’t need G-57 was Christopher Greene, Jr. He went home with the jackpot.

Main Prospect is located at 15 Prospect Street in Southampton, mainprospectsh.com.

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Our favorite man about the Hamptons (and sometimes NYC), Bill McCuddy will go just about anywhere we send him. He is an entertainment reporter and movie critic for PBS. He also co-hosts a WLIW and LTV show “AirHamptons with Bridget and Bill.”