Lucky Mecca bingo winner scoops Hull's biggest ever £50k prize
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A Hull woman has won a huge £50,000 national prize - the largest amount ever to be given away by Mecca Bingo in Hull.
Diana Backstrom, 72, was a regular bingo player until the pandemic disrupted her favourite pastime. She had only returned to the bingo halls of Hull since the pandemic began a handful of times when she won the maximum possible prize of £50,000.
After scooping the biggest win possible, she has no plans to stop now and will continue to be a regular at the local Mecca Bingo venues in Hull.
Diana was participating in a national bingo game a fortnight ago, where the three main prizes were £100, £1,000 and £50,000. Before the final round, she had already won more than £50 playing Bandits Bingo and was content with what she thought her winnings in the last game were.
She said: "I won with I think it was 15 numbers and I thought I'd won £62 and something pence." But Wesley Liddell, the manager of Mecca Bingo Cecil in Anlaby Road, Hull, soon came to her table to correct her.
She said: "Wesley came to me and says, 'no you've won 50.' I said, 'No, it says 62.' And he said, 'No, it's £50,000' and then I passed out."
To win the £50,000, Diana had to complete a full house in 16 numbers or less. "I passed out, shaking. I was still trying to play bingo but I couldn't anymore. I was missing out all the numbers, so overwhelmed with it all."
Diana has been a regular at Hull's Mecca Bingo venues, particularly at Mecca Bingo Cecil, for some time. She said: "From being 18, I used to go to Berkeley on Bilton Grange and then I started coming here in the '90s and Clough Road, when it first opened.
"Since Covid, I haven't been, I've only been four times, twice at Clough Road, twice here." Diana added that she was "still in a trance" since winning and it had yet to sink in.
Wesley Liddell, 28, explained how significant Diana's win was: "I was at the front desk when it came through, because we check the numbers. And as it came through, I went, oh my god, it's in 16 numbers. Bless her, she fainted.
"Winning that much, it was the first one in Hull, we've never seen anything like it. It was the most we've ever given away."
National bingo is held at Mecca Bingo every day, twice a day. "You can come in whenever you're ready, registration takes a few minutes and so long as you're over 18, you can go straight in.
"Once you're registered, we set you through the process of buying your books. You get your free main game when you come to join us, so you've got that first chance to get your first win for free, and then just enjoy and have a good night."
On Saturday, April 2, a celebration was being held in Diana's honour at the bingo venue for her amazing prize win. "We'd like to do it more often, so we need more people to come and win, so we can host these parties."
As for Diana, she has shared her winnings with her daughter, Lisa Goodman. She also has three holidays planned, including a trip to New York. She was also continuing to play bingo on Saturday morning..
