Hercules Johnson

Las Vegas, Nev. — Bingo is not exactly the hip gaming craze roiling the blood of the masses, not the masses under fifty at least. But the traveling circus that is Rebel Bingo is changing the game by infusing costumes, crazy prizes, competitive face-offs for prizes, sexed-up punked out girls talking dirty, and a liberal dose of liquor.

Rebel Bingo, which on July 18 hosted guests at LVH and the Boulevard Pool at the Cosmo, holds court at the Act nightclub inside the Palazzo Casino. Act earns its fame from the side show theatrics that it nightly injects into the standard local nightclub life, thus it appears the perfect environment to host this bombastic underworld party of Bingo and debauchery.

No one appears to blink as the costumed wanderer on stilts shimmies through the crowd surrounding the dance floor.

The show starts a little late but with much enthusiasm from the MC as he called the crowd to the stage. He introduces his troupe, lays down the rules, and the Bingo began.

The two ladies that accompanying the man wielding the megaphone begin to call out the numbers, loudly and quickly, prefaced with rhymes,replete with double entendre. This is without mentioning the rhymes full of outright, undeniably-sexy vulgarity, but this is an after-midnight crowd out late in Las Vegas, so of course no one minds and the ladies receive exactly the excitement they sought from the crowd.

After a series of dirty rhymes and assorted numbers are called out, the first winner runs onto the stage to hug the MC, as he has instructed all winners they must. Then she waits for the runner up, because in Rebel Bingo the two winners must compete head to head for their prize. The moment a contestant has emerged victorious from the duel, the floor erupts with noise and confetti rains from the ceiling as the winner is announced.

Bingo is followed by more bingo; more drinking and more prizes ensue until our bingo cards and are faces are painted with dobbers or markers (or sharpies for the unlucky few) and the room of revelers is left in more familiar surroundings. Albeit only slightly more familiar, as they remain in the debaucherous Act nightclub. But the crowd is primed and they faithfully party away the afterhours on the Las Vegas Strip.