Read all about what went down at Sun Bingo’s epic Blackpool event

ON Friday 22^nd November, Sun Bingo whisked a selection of players and their plus ones off to the All Star Hotel in Blackpool for an unforgettable weekend.

After all the hype and build up to the All Star Hotel 2024, it feels both surreal and a little sad to think that the hotel has shut its doors once again.

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However, as they say, time flies when you’re having fun, and that’s the only way to describe the whirlwind of illuminations, brilliant entertainment and fabulous company that was the All Star Hotel weekend.

Although the weather didn’t get the memo about putting on a good show, it didn’t dampen any of the fantastic weekend that we had in store for our lucky winning players and their guests.

As we had the run of the Ruskin Hotel for the weekend, there was an incredible buzz around the site as everyone was there for the same exciting reason and shared the lovely sense of community that we have at Sun Bingo.

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Stepping through the doors for check in, taking in all of the lovely Christmas decorations and sensing the anticipation in the air, we knew instantly that this was going to be a special weekend.

The guests were treated to food and drink all weekend, meaning all they had to think about was bagging the best seats in the house to watch our showstopping entertainment.

Although, thanks to impressive renovations, every seat was a good choice!

While the tension built in the lead up to the acts performing, I caught up with a few players to see what they expected from All Star 2024.

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Sun Bingo player Pat, from Birmingham, was already impressed with the weekend: “It’s fabulous here. The staff are brilliant, the food is brilliant, it’s just lovely!”

She was sat alongside fellow player Melony, from Accrington, who she met at the All Star hotel last year.

However, Pat swore never to sit next to Melony again after it turned out that Melony is a very lucky player.

Not only had she won her way onto all three All Star weekends, she also won two Christmas Day hampers during the weekend.

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While Pat was left to lament “always the bridesmaid, never the bride”, Melony’s advice to any hopeful winners was simply “you’ve got to be in it to win it!”

Suddenly, the lights lowered and the music blared, unapologetically announcing the start of the evening’s performances.

Dressed for a night of sparkling glamour, Sun Bingo’s own Chris Ashton and TV personality Sandi Bogle were the excellent hosts for the weekend, keeping the crowd’s energy up and guiding them through the schedule of incredible performances.

These included the sensational vocals of Mandy L, Celebrity X-Factor contestant and former Coronation star, Victoria Ekenoye, and winner of Starstruck 2023, Abbie Edwards.

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From powerful, emotive ballads to songs that made our guests get up and dance, these singers got the party started on a Friday night!

As if there wasn’t enough magic in the air already, everyone was left in shock and awe as Britain’s Got Talent 2024 finalist, and potentially genuine wizard, Magician Trixy blew our minds with logic-bending magic tricks.

Speaking of magic, our opening evening was brought to a close with an act of time travel as we were transported back to the heart of the 90s with the epic pop group 911.

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Busting out their iconic dance moves, 911 ended the night on a high as our guests sang and danced along to their favourite songs.

Spying a few familiar faces as the scheduled entertainment drew to a close, I caught up with Leah, from Portsmouth, and Shiela, from Staffordshire.

Leah was one of the Fabulous Bingo Makeover winners in 2023, and as it turns out, she had also managed to bag tickets for all of the Sun Bingo All Star weekends.

“I’m loving it. I’m meeting up with some old friends and meeting new friends!”

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Leah had come along with fellow Fabulous Makeover 2023 winner, Shiela, who she first met while playing online bingo.

As well as players, we were joined by some of the 10/10 chat host team.

Finally, after years of the fun and giggles that they’ve helped foster in our chat rooms, our players got to put faces to names!

The hosts filled me in on what to expect from the weekend based on previous All Star weekends, with Host Marley warning: “We’ll look like zombies but the guests will still be standing! We’ve had people at breakfast say they only went to bed an hour ago but they got up for food.”

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Host Sarah added: “I couldn’t wait to be back… I love live music and stage events so I’m looking forward to seeing every act this year”.

You’d think after all of that, our players and their guests would be partied out. Think again!

This is the Sun Bingo community you’re talking about, after all. As the chat team predicted, our guests appeared bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next day, ready for another day of Sun Bingo fun.

Just before events kicked off for the Saturday schedule, I got the low-down on how everyone was enjoying themselves. Leonsia, from Tooting, thought “it’s a really good weekend, the acts have been amazing”.

As it turns out, Leonsia has also been enjoying some good luck on Sun Bingo, with her wins this year including a jackpot in the Candy Room, a Smart TV and even £75 that very morning.

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Sun Bingo luck was also in the air for Wendy, from Milton Keynes, who recently won a Bingo Links jackpot of £2,500!

As more guests arrived and took their seats, it was time to put that luck to the test as we kicked off proceedings with a few games of B-I-N-G-O and quizzes!

Winners were treated to cash prizes as well as Christmas Day hampers.

Bringing down the tempo to save the energy for the evening, the guests got a chance to sit back and relax for a bit while listening in on the gossip behind the soaps during an audience with celebs including Gaynor Faye and Sherrie Hewson.

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The friendly panel were amazing and full of brilliant, scandalous stories.

After resting and recouping, it was time to get up and start moving again with a Strictly masterclass.

This was an incredible opportunity for our All Star crew to learn how to move like a Strictly star, with instructions from a real Strictly star!

Our guests picked up the moves in no time, thanks to the excellent teachings of World Champion dancer Vincent Simone.

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Vincent kept his hips shaking into the evening, performing incredibly powerful and sensual dances with fellow professional Victoria Martin.

Settling in for another night of star-studded entertainment, the next act had our audience crying with laughter.

It was the sensationally sarcastic and fiercely fabulous Ms Belinda Scandal.

With our players warmed up and primed for a great night, they were ready to dance the night away thanks to the stunning vocal skills of Mandy L and a fantastic performance from X Factor winner, Louisa Johnson.

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Bringing the evening’s entertainment to an epic conclusion was the one and only Gareth Gates.

The Pop Idol finalist burst onto the stage ready to get everyone in a Saturday night fever.

What an epic way to end brilliant weekend, with a star-studded bang.

There’s nothing worse than when it’s time to pack up and check out.

The All Star weekend had so many amazing events, and yet somehow felt like it was over all too soon.

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We had a lovely time getting to know our players better, dancing and singing along to wonderful entertainers.

Plus, it’s not every weekend that you get to hang out with celebrities!