Club 3000 Bingo has sat at the heart of Huyton for 25 years.
The Poplar Bank bingo hall was already pretty full when we visited on Wednesday at around 7pm. An 'early session' is in full swing and people are eyes down and concentrating. Around 400 customers will eventually come in to try and win some cash.
The Huyton branch is a very special place for many people who work and play there. Just recently, the club celebrated being open for 25 years and 16 members of staff were given long service awards after working there for more than 15 years.
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Bingo players at this club also can't stay away, with customers coming up to five times a week for many years. Many said they have made lots friends and it keeps them socialising. Staff also echo this sentiment, saying it's a "family atmosphere".
Club 3000 Bingo is a family-run business founded in 2004 by Brian Fraser, and there are 21 clubs in England, Scotland, and Wales. For two weeks the Huyton club celebrated with its colleagues and customers with special promotions including bargain bingo, big money sessions and parties - customers were also given a free gift and glass of bubbly on arrival.
Bingo has changed over the decades but this club is still in the heart of the community. It has "die-hard regulars" where even "6ft of snow" won't stop the customers coming, according to staff. We spoke to bingo players and staff about life at this bingo hall.
"It's like a second family"
Robert Cahill is general manager at Club 3000 Bingo in Huyton and has been in the industry for 22 years, two years at the club in Huyton. The 38-year-old said he followed in his dad's footsteps who was also a bingo hall manager and "caught the bingo bug".
Robert said his role varies and he can be doing anything from welcoming customers, helping with membership enquiries, selling books and walking the floor to help customers as they play.
He said the club has celebrated the birth of customers children and people getting married. Speaking to the ECHO, Robert said: "No two days are the same, that's what I love about the job and it's the community element and it's like a second family, not just the staff but the customers as well.
"You get to hear everyone's success stories if you like, and you share peoples problems that they share with you. They're just really good people, just generally down to earth people.
"It's more about the community feel. Bingo might have changed over the years, when I first stared in bingo it was just the paper tickets it wasn't the electronic boards, but now we have the electronic boards there is more chances to win.
"Despite what has changed, the customers are still number one and customer service at heart and it's a privilege to come here everyday and lead this team. They are a good bunch."
Andy Bland, who is a bingo caller at the club and does other roles, has worked at the Huyton branch since it opened 25 years ago. He said he left for a short while but returned.
The bingo caller echoed Robert's sentiment of it being a community and said it's a "big family atmosphere". He added staff who had worked at another club which had closed transferred to Huyton, so staff got to know one another before it opened to customers.
Andy said: "It was a nice atmosphere because all the staff knew everybody as well. Once the customers started coming in it just built on from there and I think the customers like it because we're a big family atmosphere."
"It is a great place, that's why I am here every night"
Some of the customers who come to Club 3000 in Huyton have been coming for many years, with some playing up to five times a week.
Joan Pettit, from Netherley, said she has been coming to the bingo hall for around 20 years. The 80-year-old said "it is a great" place and has made many friends and is one of the reasons she's "here every night".
Speaking to the ECHO, Joan said: "I've been coming for about 20 years, I used to go to the other Club 3000 in Hunts Cross and when it closed down I came here. I love it, we're all mates here and we all sit round. It is a great place, that's why I am here every night.
"The staff are fabulous. You can come here and you can have something to eat, you can have a drink if you drink. I love it. The manager is fantastic, love him to pieces.
"All the staff know us, they know us by name. I love it here. I am 80 now and it is somewhere for me to go, I don't drink and it's somewhere for me to go every night."
Ann Jackson, from Prescot, said she also has been coming to the bingo club for "years and years". She said it is somewhere for her to go and socialise.
The 57-year-old said: "It's the atmosphere, I like the atmosphere and it gets me out because I am stuck in all day. My husband works all day and I am on my own all day, so it gets me out of a night. And I talk to anybody. So it just gets me out."
Bingo regular Linda Harris, from Huyton, said "the atmosphere, the company, the friends" are some of the reasons why she keeps returning. The 72-year-old said she has been coming for around 20 years and has made many friends during her time at the club.
She told the ECHO: "I come a lot of nights, five at least. I think it company here as well. My husband was really ill at one time and he likes the peace and he watches the sport, he says 'you go the bingo' and things like that and it's a bit of company."
"Nothing stops their bingo, 6ft of snow and they will still be here"
Reception supervisor Jennifer May has worked at Club 3000 Bingo in Huyton for 22 years and started on Father's Day. She said there are "die-hard regulars" who come to the bingo and nothing will stop them.
Jennifer said: "Everyone is brilliant, we have our off days, everyone does but we're a team. I used to work for bingo years before that, so when that closed a lot of customers came here and all remembered me.
"But some of them have been here for years, die-hard regulars. Nothing stops their bingo, 6ft of snow and they will still be here"
"Every night is different"
Claire Lawal has worked at Club 3000 Bingo for a total of 17 years. She said she has learnt every department but is now mainly a bookseller.
Claire said she has "so many memories" of working there, speaking to the ECHO, she said: "It's been a long time, but it has been great. I really do like it here and it is more of a social thing then an actual job and I think that is why I stayed because I enjoy the staff and we have a laugh.
"We all chip in and we all help each other - it is great. I love it. There's so many memories because every night is different and I think that is one of the things I enjoy."
Andy also said a similar thing. He said: "Everything is different, different days, everyday brings something different."
Big money wins
Bingo staff have witnessed customers winning life-changing sums of money. During her time at the bingo hall Jennifer said she saw someone win £200,000 on a national game.
Claire said just recently a customer who had never played bingo before won £23,000. She told the ECHO: "There was a young lady who came in with her mum-in-law and they said 'we've just come out because we're bored, we have never been to bingo in our lives and we thought it would be a good place to come'. She was pregnant, ready to drop and she came in and ended up walking out with £23,000.
"It was amazing. It was funny because a lot of the regulars were like 'press your button' because you have to press the button to claim it. So they were like 'press you button, press your button' and everyone was screaming.
"With that amount of money, someone ran over and pressed the button and she was like 'I don't know what's going on' but she won £23,000 and we have never seen her since. It was a good night."
Bingo player Linda has also won big during her 20-year stint at Club 3000 Bingo. The 72-year-old split a £10,000 win with her husband after a very lucky game. General manager Robert also said he saw a customer won £250,000 during his time at the company.
He said: "I have seen someone win a quarter of a million on a national game many years ago. For tonight for example if you win a full house in then this club pays £500, so there is 10 chances to win 500 tonight then we link up with another club and there is a chance to win thousands of pounds."
Customer Ann said she hopes to win big one day, she said: "I'm still waiting for the big one though - the £2,000 one - but as my husband says, it will come to you one day."
