Winnipeg is naughtier than ever before. With a number of hotels and bars in the city offering weekly erotic bingo nights, the popularity of the game is proving that bingo isn’t just for grandma anymore.

Ron Petryna, the general manager of the Headingley Hotel, is the self-proclaimed perpetrator of erotic bingo in Manitoba.

“We started erotic bingo many years ago when the smoking ban came into place (in October 2004) as a way to try and replace lost customers,” said Petryna via email. “We were the original erotic bingo in Manitoba.”

Petryna says he then began working at the St. Norbert Hotel and brought erotic bingo with him, which they still continue to do. 

Limelight Tavern is one of the newest erotic bingo places in town, so I went out to play a game for myself.

All in all, the format seems to be the same whether you’re at the Nob, the Headingley Hotel or at the Limelight.

Winning a bingo gets you a sex-related prize: think vibrators, dildos, penis pumps or even sexy lingerie for both men and women. Venues like Limelight and the Headingley Hotel have deals with Discreet Boutique and Love Nest to provide prizes.

If there happens to be a tie, the winners have to compete for the prize. The tie-breaking competition depends on the venue.

At the Headingley Hotel, the winners have to dance on the pole and the crowd picks the winner.

At the Limelight, there is a “sex-off” where the winners have to either use another player to show off their best sex position, or take the microphone and show off their best orgasm.

Again, the crowd gets to pick the winner.

Other places also offer drink specials: The Nob has sexy shooters for $2.75 a piece, while the Headingley Hotel offers several martinis with an interesting deal: buy one martini and get a free pair of erotic underwear, lube or other selected item. 

As you can imagine, erotic bingo is popular with young adults, bachelorette parties and groups.

The Limelight has a regular weekly crowd. One participant boasted she even brings a different friend every week. 

“We decided to do (erotic bingo) to bring more business to the Limelight,” explained Limelight’s host Elsaida “Sadie” Alerta. “It is pretty popular and we get a lot of regulars that come every Thursday and they always have a blast.

“The reason why we do it for free is so that people will tell a friend, who will tell another friend to come down and drink and have a good time,” she said.

Yvonne Coe is one such regular. She says she goes to the Limelight anywhere between once a month and up to four times a week. She also comes to erotic bingo almost every week.

“It’s a time to just let loose with friends,” said Coe. “To have fun, have a couple of drinks and just unwind. And sometimes you get lucky and end up going home with some pretty sweet prizes.”

All in all, Limelight is an excellent time.

Host Elsaida Alerta makes conversation with the crowd that ranges from hilarious to outright disgusting.

“ It’s a time to just let loose with friends. To have fun, have a couple of drinks and just unwind. And sometimes you get lucky and end up going home with some pretty sweet prizes.

Yvonne Coe

For example, “The only thing I don’t understand about felching is why would you bother to use a straw?” 

The whole environment at the Limelight is rather laid back, between Alerta’s commentary, the music playing in the background, and the booze that flows freely.

Alerta quite casually gives out prize packs and individual items. Prizes given out the night I visited included all kinds of toys like the naughty gnome vibrator, the busy bee vibrator, the mini vaginal extreme stimulator and the peanut vibrator.

The very last prize of the night is always lingerie, and the final winner gets to choose whether they want a men’s or women’s set.

Not only sex toys set this brand of bingo apart. Instead of shouting the word bingo, Alerta asks the crowd for a word.

These are usually disgusting sex related slang, for example: chode, angry pirate, bukkake, beef curtains, tuna tunnel and snatch.

The different formations on the card have sexy names like “4play” instead of “postage stamp,” “free bush” instead of “blackout,” and brand new formations like hearts and g-strings.

If you feel like checking out erotic bingo, visit one of the following locations:

Limelite Tavern – 531 St Mary’s Road – Thursday nights 7:30 p.m. – Free!

Headingley Hotel – 146 Bridge Road, Headingley, MB – Friday nights 9:00 p.m. – Free!

The St. Norbert Hotel, a.k.a. The Nob – 3540 Pembina Highway – Saturday nights 8:00 p.m. – Free!

Published in Volume 65, Number 13 of The Uniter (November 25, 2010)