With the odd exception, you must travel to another state to play blackjack, but the Texas Lottery Commission permits charitable bingo more than $11 billion in prize money has been doled out since the state started regulating it and issuing licenses to groups like SPJST in the ’80s. And after years of hearing the buzz, we’re here to party.
The Czech fraternal organization has been hosting the event since 1965, and most Thursdays, a capacity crowd of more than 700 floods the Heights-area compound as it transforms from a sleepy community center into a boisterous celebration overflowing with a hip, all-ages crowd. If you arrive less than an hour before SPJST Lodge 88 bingo night starts, good luck finding a parking space.