STROUD TOWNSHIP -- The bingo board at the Eagles Social Club near Stroudsburg lights up on weekends and players fill seats hoping to win the top prize.
Thanks to a new law that was signed last month, prizes and jackpots could be much bigger than ever before.
"I think it's great. It gives us an opportunity to do some bigger jackpots if we want to do something for local charities or the fire department, police department," said Paul Kennedy, Eagles Club 1106 club manager.
The new law allows social clubs, volunteer fire departments and other nonprofit organizations to increase bingo prize limits from $250 to $500 for any one game of bingo. Jackpot prizes increase from $2,000 to $4,000.
Eagles Club manager Paul Kennedy hopes it encourages more people to play.
"We know we are going to have a lot of people here because they have a chance to win a lot of money for a progressive jackpot that has gotten pretty big," said Kennedy.
Clubs and organizations that host weekly bingo say this is great for a number of reasons. One, it opens up the doors for higher jackpots, and two, it allows those who either don't like or can't get to a casino, the opportunity to play for more money.
"Not everyone likes to go to the casino and bingo, it's a neat game to play," said Anthony Nase, Loyal Order of the Moose 1336.
The Moose Club in Stroud Township is also a hot spot for bingo on Monday nights.
Anthony Nase says he's happy about the prize increases and the fact that he can now advertise when big jackpots are up for grabs.
"Before it was against the law to publish it on Facebook or any kind of media. Now that they opened it up, we can put it out there. It's a good promotion for the clubs and anyone that has bingo," said Nase.
The law also gets rid of restrictions on the number of days a licensed group may have bingo games.
For a list of bingo halls in Monroe County, click here.
