Don’t bring your grandma to this bingo party.
Fans of the Underground Rebel Bingo Club — which puts on secretive, bingo-themed boozefests run by Williamsburg residents Freddie “Fortune” Sorensen and James “Flames” Gordon — will dust off their score cards at the Bell House’s upcoming math bash on May 5.
“We’re taking bingo back from the grannies,” said Gordon. “This is all about having fun and letting go of your inhibitions.”
In Gordon’s modern take on the classic senior center game, scantily-clad dancers announce the winning numbers to hundreds of participants who compete for mirrored disco balls, megaphones and other party prizes.
“The atmosphere is a lot like the Roman Coliseum,” said Gordon. “It’s very gladiatorial.”
Gordon and Sorensen launched the club in 2008, after stumbling across unused bingo equipment in a church basement in London.
The British TV producers and childhood friends brought the concept to Glasslands Gallery on Kent Avenue after moving to Brooklyn two years later. Since then, the club has spread to cities around the world, including Los Angeles, Madrid, and Beijing.
Gordon said the Brooklyn shows, which are staged at different venues every two months, draw up to a thousand revelers.
But he warned older bingo enthusiasts to steer clear of the raucous late-night shindigs.
“This is not something you should come to for regular bingo,” he said. “Leave that to your grandmother.”
Underground Rebel Bingo Club at the Bell House [149 Seventh St. between First and Second avenues, Gowanus (718) 643-6510] May 5, 10 pm. $3–15. Visit www.rebelbingo.com.
Reach reporter Daniel Bush at dbush@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-8310. Follow him at twitter.com/dan_bush.
