English Cleaner Sweeps Biggest Bingo Win in History - 03-26-08

March 26 - There were cheers and shouts of disbelief at the Club 3000 Bingo Hall in Coatbridge on Sunday night when mother of four, Soraya Lowell, won what bingo bosses believe to be the biggest single bingo win in the history of the game.

Lowell won an incredible1.2 million UK Pounds, roughly converted to $2.4-million, playing the National Bingo Game. She beat the previous record by a close margin, which was held by Christine Bradfield of Merthyr Tydfil who won 1.1 million Pounds earlier this year.

Lowell, who cleans offices until after midnight for a living, called house on the last number (90) over the weekend, securing her historic win. The ecstatic woman tried to convince her husband that she wasn't bluffing when she called home to report on her National Bingo Game windfall and rushed to his side to celebrate with neighbors and friends until the next morning.

Despite her incredible win, Soraya is not rushing to give up her cleaning job just yet and has vowed to return to work this week. "It just won't sink in yet," she said. "I haven't slept at all but I will be back at work on Tuesday as usual. I clean offices until 1.30 am and I don't intend to give up my job. I like the girls I work with and they have already told me not to pack it in."

Lowell has been a regular frequenter of the Club 3000 Bingo hall since it opened its doors nearly 18 months ago, although she has been playing the game since she was a young girl when she was taken on trips to the local bingo hall with her grandmother. "This was my first ever win and it was worth waiting for," she said about her National Bingo Game win, and then added in what can only be described as major understatement: "It feels quite good".