The Gold Coast’s most Robbed Bingo Premises

by Hollie Sanders

The Musgrave bowls club once picked up the name as the (Gold Coast’s most robbed premises) and this is not really surprising seen at this bingo venue has been reportedly robbed 20 times since 2003. The staff and bingo players at the bowls club have just seen of another would be robber who brandished a screwdriver when he was corned by staff and bingo players after trying to rob this popular bingo venue.

Once the incident was over, it did not stop the 60 odd bingo players getting back to their bingo and finishing their bingo game before heading home. A man who is believed to be in his 30’s entered the bowls club about 9.15 and he was captured on CCTV jumping over the cafe counter before trying to sneak behind the bar to get his hands on the till. The bingo staff at the bowls club however stood up to the would be robber along with other male bingo patrons and corned the man, who promoted pulled out a screwdriver.

The staff and bingo players who confronted the man were urged by the bingo clubs duty manager Mr Baldwin, to let him go. He then made a run for it empty handed. Mr Baldwin said, “The security footage clearly showed the man involved and he was optimistic police would catch the culprit. He was at least 30 years old and wore a distinctive cap. He would have to be on drugs to be so brazen.”

One of the bingo players Lindsay Keating said that he saw the man walk into the club. “He had a cap on and I was contemplating telling him to take it off, but thought he might just be meeting a mate,” he said. “I went outside … and when I came back everyone was all over the place.”

Over 50 bingo players, who were said to be between the age of 18 and 80 watched this incident unfold, but still went back to playing bingo once it was over. Land based bingo robberies in the UK are quite rare compared to other countries, which is reassuring news for UK bingo players.