68-year-old Phyllis Kingswell scooped a £29,300 bingo win at Commodore in Ryde – over £72,000 in today’s values – on 19th August 1990.
Around 260 players at the bingo hall cheered when it was announced that she had won £25,000 on the national jackpot and a further regional prize of £4,300. This was the fourth national win on the Isle of Wight that Summer.
Mrs Kingswell’s previous highest win had been £668.
The widow, whose husband had died 2 years previously, had 4 sons, 3 daughters and 6 grandchildren. She lived in a flat at Sandown Road in Lake and had worked as a cleaner before her retirement.
Phyllis described bingo as her ‘big interest’, which she had been playing 3 times a week for 10 years. Her win had left her stunned, and she hadn’t decided what she would do with the money. However, she promised she would keep going to the bingo…
Bingo is still played afternoon and evening, 7 days a week, at Leo Leisure (Commodore) in Ryde, with the biggest jackpot sitting at £50,000.
