PUBLISHED MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2004

N-34, that`s N-34 ... BINGO!

Game becomes big winner for Seville Quarter

Nicole Lozare
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

On any other Monday night, John Harris, 23, would probably be at home watching TV.

Instead, he finds himself booed by a roomful of rowdy people, ducking wadded up bingo cards.

This, he said, "makes you feel like a winner."

The game is bar bingo. The spot is Seville Quarter. The players? More like student discount than senior citizen discount.

With "Monday Night Football" gone, the local bar was searching for a way to bring customers in - bingo was the surprising savior.

"We tried everything," said manager Clifton Mitchell. "We brought in a bunch of different live bands. It's hard to get people to come out on a Monday night because they're still recovering from the weekend."

But since the free bingo game debuted two months ago, business at Seville's Lili Marlene's bar has improved 300 percent, Mitchell said.

The bar is packed with people, mostly in their 20s and 30s.

Most people have a red or green bingo marker in one hand, and a bottle of beer or a chicken wing in the other.

"It's a good time for me to catch up with my friends," said Mike Damone, a high school history teacher. "It's low key, and good, quality fun."

His girlfriend, Catherine Louy, 29, is in it for the thrill.

"I'm only here to win." In four weeks, she hasn't.

Winners get the royal treatment - usually a bottle of expensive liquor, jeers and wadded-up bingo cards. The prize for the night's last game is $50.

Last Monday, Brian Ross, 26, won three times. "I got so hated on," he said proudly.

Players quickly become regulars. "It's a tight-knit circle," Ross said.

And the regulars have made their own rules. For example, certain numbers mean everyone has to stand up and remain standing until they fill a square.

Stockbroker Brian Wright, 36, played his first bar bingo game last Monday.

"I haven't played since grade school," he said. "But what else was I going to do on a Monday night?"

Ross, on the other hand, is more passionate about the game.

"At this point, I'd rather play bingo than watch football."

Want to go?

WHAT: Seville Quarter's bar bingo night.

WHEN: 9 p.m. every Monday.

WHERE: 130 E. Government St., Lili Marlene's room.

COST: Free.

DETAILS: 434-6211.