By Mika Chance

The regulars have been coming for years, some of them every night of the week. They come to Winners World to play beach bingo, a faster, more intense variation than charity or church-run bingo.

The hall is quiet during bingo games, but not dull. It crackles with tension; emotions can run high. The bingo games bring together people from many walks of life, and they have come to view themselves as a sort of family, even if it is dysfunctional at times. The players say they come not just to win, but for the chance to escape from their troubles, if only for a little while.