July 30, 2004 - Las Vegas CityLife
by Jennifer Prosser
Organizers of Punk Rock Bingo at the Double Down are celebrating the event's one-year anniversary ... by not playing bingo. According to Sin City Sounds' Poizen Ivy, the Gaming Control Board shut the party down after it was deemed the monthly event constituted an illegal/unliscensed bingo game, "even though it was free and our items of 'value' were things like plastic squirt guns and horror movie promo posters."
According to Nevada Revised Statute, Chapter 463, "'game,' or 'gambling game,' means any game played with cards, dice, equipment or any mechanical, electromechanical or electronic device or machine for money, property, checks, credit or any representative of value ... but does not include games played with cards in private homes or residences in which no person makes money for operating the game."
"If you read this as I did, only games played with cards in private homes are excluded ... so technically I guess I can't play bingo at home either," wrote Ivy via e-mail.
In protest, Ivy & Co. will be wearing "Got Lube?" T-shirts from their bingo sponsor, ID Lube. (They can't even give away the rest of their prizes, so if you've got said T-shirt, wear it). L.A.-based indie rockers the Kite Eating Tree will join the Bargain DJ Collective onstage Aug. 2 at 10 p.m.
July 29, 2004 - Las Vegas Weekly
Your Gaming-Regulation Dollars Well Spent
"The Gaming Control Board has made it clear that we cannot offer free bingo for crappy prizes any longer," reads the July 20 e-mail from local scenester (and former Weekly columnist) Poizen Ivy. Ivy has been hosting the monthly Punk Rock Bingo night at the Double Down Saloon for nearly a year, but the law finally caught up with her on the cusp of the event's first-anniversary party. "We didn't think of it as being bingo along the lines of casino bingo," she says, but the Gaming Control Board apparently doesn't make that distinction. The Double Down operates under a restricted license and is not authorized to host bingo. Bar owner Moss refused to comment, not surprising given his reported past troubles with the board over risque videos and a mechanical pony (since removed). Ivy is looking at an undisclosed location to host the return of Punk Rock Bingo, but for now the event's first-anniversary party will continue as scheduled on August 2, with the Bargain DJ Collective, LA rockers the Kite-Eating Tree and--note to regulators--absolutely no actual bingo. She encourages everyone who has one to wear a "Got Lube?" T-shirt from event sponsor ID Lube because, as she puts it, "we feel we got screwed."
April 29, 2004 - Las Vegas Mercury
B-i-n-g-OY!
The Double Down continues its tradition of first Monday of the month Punk Rock Bingo this week. It's much like regular bingo, except the music is louder and the hair is intentionally dyed blue. Also, we're fairly certain no one will be sober enough to play more than one card at a time. It happens at 10 p.m., no cover. Info: 791-5775.
March 24, 2004 - Las Vegas CityLife
by Jarret Keene
And the Easter edition of the ongoing Punk Rock Bingo night has been announced: "The Passion of the Balls," which will be 21 and up (since this edition is sponsored by the California-based ID Lubricants). This wild and woolly night of no-holds-barred bingo takes place at the Double Down Saloon on April 5 at 10 p.m.
Why the title?
"The bingo balls and The Passion of the Christ phenomenon," says Big Lizard owner Ryan Kinder. "It's a sacrilegious joke, I guess. The flier has an Easter bunny with a crown of thorns."
December 2003 - Nightclub & Bar
Punks & Profits - by Mandy McAnally
Who said bingo was just for grandmas? Definately not Las Vegas' Double Down Saloon, where Punk Rock Bingo night proves punks have a passion for bingo that puts the rest of us to shame.
Sin City's finest dive bar is a bingo battleground the first Monday of every month. Punks, hipsters, Vegas night owls, and yes, grandmas, battle it out for handsome prizes, like Elmer's glue, car air-fresheners, Vegas key chains and Twinkies and a chance to be in the prestigious Punk Rock Bingo Night Hall of Fame.
P. Moss, owner of Double Down Saloon, says the level of competition between contestants the night of the first bingo event amazed him. "They were fighting each other to win," Moss says. "Everyone just dropped the facade and focused on the bingo game."
Contestants are lulled into the Punk Rock Bingo-playing mood by Bargain DJ Collections' Punk Rock tunes and Pabst Blue Ribbon, the drink of choice by bar regulars. Then games begin with X-rated bingo rounds called "Texas T", "Six Pack" and "Lucky L" before culmulating in the final "Blackout" round.
To keep contestants on their toes and in the game, the bar even installed some rules. Contests must yell loudly if they have a winning card. "Bingo is not a game for the meek," says Moss of the Double Down regulations. And Contestants must remember that drunkenness is not an excuse. Three false bingo calls and the game is over.
The punky promotion has really begun to attract a devoted following. The first night drew a crowd of nearly 70, including a few die-hard bingo grandmas. The bar's second event hosted a loud crowd that rocked the bingo house for seven games. Moss says because of the promotion, he's already seen many new faces in the bar, and he expects to see greater turnouts as the word continues to spread.
View the pretty print version of the article here
July 31, 2003 - Las Vegas CityLife
City Pick - Monday, August 4th
Move over grandma. Punk rockers are taking over the bingo scene ... well, not exactly. Have you ever wanted to play Punk Rock Bingo? Or just wanted to know what it is? You can learn and actually play five rounds of bingo as Bargain DJ Collective spins some tunes. Get freaky by playing "X-rated," "Lucky L" and/or "Blackout" bingo, or remain a conservative tight-wad by playing some good, old fashioned bingo. Just a hint on what some of the prizes might be, Big Lizard Records, Poizen Ideas and BowlingShirt.com are co-sponsoring the shindig.
Punk Rock Bingo takes place on Monday, Aug. 4 at the Double Down Saloon at 4640 Paradise Rd. 702-791-5775. The bingo-fest starts at 10 p.m. Admission is free and for those 21 and over.
To learn more about Punk Rock Bingo, visit www.punkrockbingo.com.
July 31, 2003 - Las Vegas Weekly
Picks - Bingo!
It's not just for your grandma anymore. Punk Rock Bingo offers the guilty pleasure game, along with hip tunes spun by the Bargain DJ Collective so you won't feel too uncool.
August 4, 10 p.m., Double Down Saloon, free. Info 791-5775
