A quick Haiku by Joel titled, “Things I love about Spring”:

Colors blanket fields
Longer days in warmer sun
or fresh April rain

Another quick Haiku by Joel titled, “Things I don’t love about Spring”:

Road construction starts
Dog “gifts” cover the back lawn
Allergies keep me sneezing

Let’s get some conversation going. Head over to our Facebook fan page and sound off – What do you like/dislike the most about spring?

Just a quick note to clarify that the post yesterday about new features coming to BingoVega was all in the spirit of April Fools’ Day. I’m regretfully sorry, but we’re not going to be implementing personal CMs, adoption papers, or recursive chance rooms.

I hope that we didn’t pull anyone’s leg too hard this year, and again our heartfelt apologies if this sparked any excitement as to the fake news of what lay ahead for our bingo community.

Please note that if you want to deposit $250,000 or more, we can figure something out

Sincerely,

Joel

Everyone loves new features!

Hello dear BingoVegans, it’s my extreme honor to be able to share some very exciting news for you today.  Normally we’re pretty hush-hush about features that are in the works but we feel that this news is far too momentous to hold back.

As always, BingoVega aims to please and brings the community what it wants.  Here is a quick list of features that we’re working on:

350% deposit bonus on deposits of $250,000 or more

That’s right!  On any deposit that you make of $250,000 or more you will receive a deposit bonus of 350%!!  Also, if you do make a deposit of $250,000 or more you will also receive the Player VIP level of “Shimmering Diamond“.  Can you imagine the prestige? Heck, we’ll give you this bonus even if it’s not a Tuesday!

The Recursive Chance Room

We understand that it sucks to go through a bit of bad luck.  We’ve introduced innovative options in order for our players to receive more ways to maximize on their deposits and to even the playing field.  We put a lot of thought into how we can make one of these features, particularly our Second Chance room, even better with more chances to earn.

Right now, BingoVega scientists are working on the Recursive Chance Room.  Like the Second Chance room, the Recursive Chance Room doesn’t just stop at one night.  If you have particularly bad luck in the Second Chance room on Monday night by not winning any games, we’ll invite you back on Tuesday.  Not seeing red on Tuesdays either?  We’ll invite you back on Wednesdays.  And so on, and so on.

Personal Chat Moderators

Our amazing CM team is about to get even more amazing!  We know how we all love personal attention.  This rings especially true when it comes to choosing your favorite place to play bingo.  That’s why we’re currently in the process of interviewing for two hundred additional CMs to shower our chat room guests by being their personal CMs.  To make this feature even more personal, each player can give them a new name and be provided with BingoVega Chat Moderator Adoption papers to keep things official.  More news on this as soon as we hear back from our lawyer.

Whew!

I was barely able to type all of that because I was busy jumping up and down due to amazement.  Let us know what you think of these features by sounding off in our comments or on our Facebook fan page.

Joel – Community Manager – April 1st

Attributing good fortune to particular habits or possessions, otherwise known as luck, is a widely held but often doubted belief.  While some may contend that there is no such thing as luck, others will change their lifestyles, spending habits, and day to day behavior to suit their idea of what brings them luck.  Personally, I just think it’s fun to have faith in something with the dream of it somehow influencing our chances and fortunes.

Below are a few widely known good luck charms.  Ranging from Shoupe’s ilk to a talisman attributed to the Luck O’ The Irish, here’s a a bit of lesser known information.

Troll Dolls

It was a shock to me to read that these types of dolls, originally named Dam Dolls (after the creator) have been around since 1959.  Other companies that produced the Dam style of dolls branded the trolls as being lucky.   Their population surged in the 1990′s and still continues today by being showcased throughout popular culture, with even a Dreamworks feature film in production.

Horseshoes

Although the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of horseshoes is the game involving friends, two posts, and a barbeque; horseshoes are seen as being lucky.  Accounts and rules of the horses’ lucky properties vary almost as much as the types of horseshoes themselves, with tales of their lucky origins going back to the very practical, to the mythological.  One story is that the practice began in hopes to fend off the devil, whose cloven hoof was injured by a wayward nail delivered by a farrier…err, hoseshoer.

Four-Leaf clover

While we’re technically still in the month of March, it would be appropriate to round out this list with the evasive four-leaf clover.  Who doesn’t remember scouring a patch of clover for the chance to collect one of these lucky plants.  With an estimated rarity of 1 four-leaf clover per 10,000 of it’s three-leaf brothers, finding a four-leaf clover can be seen as a bit of a confirmatory bias.  Yes, it would seem that you’d have to be lucky in order to find one as the clover itself doesn’t necessarily make you lucky.  Now seen primarily in reference to St. Patrick’s Day, there are still many people who believe in the beneficial happenings that owning a four-leaf clover can bring.

Is there such thing as luck?

Are we able to manipulate our own luck with the use of trinkets or habits?  Comment below or on our Facebook fan page and let’s hear your methods of bending the luck in your favor.

BingoVega’s International Women’s Day contest has concluded and I have to admit, every entry was truly inspirational and it was my honor to read of such amazing women.

We asked you to send in a short essay detailing the woman or women in your life who truly made a difference, the ones who motivate and inspire.  What we got in return were four stories of incredible strength and love that touched the hearts of our community and staff alike.

From sisters to mothers to grandmothers, the entries were very sincere and warm.  Our CMs were tasked with a very difficult job in having to choose a winner; but, at the end of the day they chose one among the four that all truly deserved to be winners.

Let me make it official and say “Congratulations” to Jennifer Rayl for her submission, “My Beloved Grandmother”.  Jennifer has won a $100 gift certificate to the restaurant of her choice.  Here is her winning entry in full:

My Grandmother Sylvia has always been I woman I looked up to. She is 73 years old and still going strong. She raised five kids, who were a handful and still are, was a Navy wife and still worked for the government herself. She also help raise my cousin and myself. Although she is our grandmother we look to her like a mother too. She also help raise my children. I was in a major car accident in 1999 and unable to care for the two children at the time, but she took them both in for about 9 months so I could mend. Her was a woman in her sixties still working full time and having to change diapers again. She has been there for me all my life and continues to be there for me today for all my up and downs. I Love You Grandma!!! You are a woman to be greatful for and trust me I am every single day. God Bless you and all Moms and Grandmothers like you.

An amazing story of an amazing woman indeed.

I would like to thank all participants for sharing your stories, they truly were a pleasure to read.  And to our CMs, thank you for being the judges of a fairly difficult contest.

As an aside, this was the first time that we were able to use a new format for bringing contests to our Facebook fan page.  This style was one of many that we can use in the future.  I realize there was some reluctance to submit due to the subject matter and visibility on players’ walls.  I’d just like to say that any publishing to walls is controlled within the program by a check box; in other words, all content will only stay inside the ‘contests’ application unless a player chooses otherwise.

Thanks again everyone!

Joel

It’s a little late for talks of New Year’s Resolutions, but one of the many many things that were on my list of things I would like to change is that I would like to have more of a green thumb.  You see, I moved into my house in 2009 and was gifted by the previous owners with an amazingly landscaped yard with many beautiful flowers.  But between my dog Boozy running his laps outside, and my neglect during the previous year; I hate to say that I’ve squandered a part of what initially had attracted me to this house.

So, in wanting to correct my mistakes and take responsibility for this – I need a crash course in how to take care of a garden.  I’m talking bare roots, no knowledge whatsoever about what it takes to make a garden grow and thrive.  Okay, that’s not exactly true.  I do have indoor plants which I know need water and sunlight, I get that.  It’s just that when it comes to the garden outside, I have no idea where to start, or what I should be doing on a consistent basis.

Can anyone lend their expertise and let me know how I should get started?  Remember that I’m a complete gardening noob and need to be walked through the basics here.  Please let me know, either in the comments below or on our Fanpage!

Wives, mothers, sisters, aunts, girlfriends, daughters, cousins, grandmothers, are all reasons to celebrate this wonderful Tuesday, being International Women’s day.

For the sacrifices that women have had to make in the past to see significant changes in how society sees the roles of women, to the ongoing efforts in the world to bring a greater sense of equality across all genders, we honor the women who have fought so hard to lead us into a better 21st century.

All throughout the world, thousands of events are held to inspire and celebrate achievements of women.  We would like to participate in the celebration and take some time to truly appreciate the women in our lives that have made a difference.

Time to sharpen your pencils, BingoVegans, and put on your thinking caps.  We’re going to give away a special dinner for two (valued at $100) to the best short essay dedicated to the woman or women in your life who have made a difference.  Be it a story about how they inspire you, a recanting of their character, or just an homage to those that you find truly motivating.

Here’s how to enter:

1.) Take a quick peek over at our Facebook fan page
2.) Click the “contest” tab
3.) Follow the on screen instructions

Winners will be chosen by our panel of judges, our fabulous CMs!  We will get in touch with the winner to discuss the deliver of the prize.

Thanks to all who participate, best of luck!

Joel – Community Manager

Ever hear something in chat that made you laugh so hard you were doubled over in tears? Has anything been said that was so witty that it stayed with you for the rest of the day? We believe that in building our community, the foundation of which usually starts in our chat rooms, with our amazing CM team and our terrific roomies.

So that’s why our CMs will be on the look out for funny sayings, hilarious jokes, witty quotes, and the like. Not only will your keen wit be displayed officially on our Facebook fan page, but you’ll have a chance to win a super smart $5 bonus if you’ve been chosen as the Quote of the Day.

CMs will be searching for only the best to be nominated, so this will not be a daily occurrence and winners of this prize will only be chosen as a way to let that player know that they made a great contribution to chat.

So what do you do to to enter? Absolutely nothing. Just continue what you normally do in chat, and that’s have a fantastic time. Starting this Friday (Feb 25th) and extending through the month of March, our CMs will make the recommendations when they hear of a worthy quote and you’ll be contacted to let you know that you’ve been credited with this bonus.

Keep chatting!

• There are three hidden clues scattered throughout the blog, newsletter, and Facebook fan page.
• Arrange the clues in order and enter the letters into the address bar on your browser after the blog’s domain name (http://blog.bingovega.com/k*****************)
• If the address is correct, you will be given Shoupe’s Secret
• Enter Shoupe’s Secret as a reply to this discussion after 12pm on Sunday, Feb 20th for your chance to win.

• 1st place – $20
• 2nd – 3rd place – $10
• 4th – 8th – $5