Drag queen bingo
At Randolph Country Club, an old game with a new twist
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At a time when bingo is disappearing, this club may represent the face of the future -- or, at least, one face.
Welcome to ''Ognib Drag Brunch," the name Randolph Country Club owners give to their regular Sunday afternoon event. That's Ognib, as in bingo spelled backward. And drag, as in drag queen.
Yes, drag queen bingo.
It's the local version of an unlikely national cultural phenomenon.
Somewhere along the way to its decline, bingo achieved camp status, and entrepreneurial nightclub promoters have been busy putting their own quirky spin on this age-old pastime. Drag queen bingo games started popping up all over the country in the late 1990s -- from a disco bingo version in Chicago, to beach blanket bingo in Denver, to weekly bingo games at the Meteor Lounge in Houston and across California. (For the uninitiated, drag queen bingo is just like regular bingo, except it's hosted by drag queens or drag queen-friendly staff and draws a similar clientele.)
Introduction of drag queen bingo has added a new dimension to a dying recreational mini-industry.
In Massachusetts, weekly attendance at bingo games has over the past 20 years dropped from 200,000 to 57,000. As crowds have thinned, some groups, like the Plymouth VFW Post 1822 in Plymouth, have stopped hosting games altogether.
The avid players who flocked to bingo halls in the 1980s are getting older, while new players are lured to out-of-state casinos like Foxwoods. The statewide smoking ban hasn't helped bingo attendance, either. The Massachusetts Lottery Commission continues to boost bingo -- it does, after all, collect a 5 percent tax on the gross proceeds of licensed games -- but its new one-day bingo license for nonprofits hasn't turned the tide despite its promotional celebrity bingo game hosted by New England Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown at Gillette Stadium.
Against that backdrop, the reliable fund-raiser long conducted by churches, youth sports leagues, veteran and fraternal organizations, and nonprofits has taken on a new look in places like, well, the Randolph County Club.
There, the game is not played for money. Ognib is strictly for fun. Winners receive purple gift bags that contain prizes like hats, T-shirts, and gift certificates.
Murphy, the charismatic 23-year-old host and game master of the weekly event, calls out the letters and numbers from decks of cards while the flashy waitstaff serves up the food. Games are held on Sunday afternoons every half-hour from 1 to 4. Anyone who orders an entree from the $7.95 brunch menu -- eggs, French toast, burgers, or turkey club sandwiches -- is welcome to play as many Ognib games as they like.
Players yell ''Ognib!" when they complete their bingo card. (At least they're supposed to. Many can't resist the natural urge to say the B word.)
''It's a great way to get people to interact, and we give out great little prizes," said Alexis Taylor, a drag performer waiting on tables while wearing a black velvet dress and high heels and shimmering purple eye shadow.
Fellow waitress Veronica Bond agreed as Ognib began: ''It's going to be fun. I can feel it."
Michael Capone, the club's general manager, was pleased with the turnout so far -- about a dozen players.
''It's really wonderful to see people having a good time in a relaxed atmosphere in the suburbs," said Capone, who has worked at the club since 1978.
Many bingo fans may not be familiar with the Randolph Country Club, which is inconspicuously located on Route 139, across from the Showcase Cinemas complex. The club is large -- there's a lounge, two dance halls, a volleyball court, and an outdoor swimming pool -- but it's set back from the road. A small wood sign with rainbow stripes marks the entrance to the club's vast parking lot.
The Randolph Country Club has been a prominent fixture on the local gay scene for decades.
Capone said the facility first opened in the 1946 as a Jewish men's swimming club and was purchased by gay-friendly owners in the 1960s. Word quickly spread throughout the gay community.
''When I started to go to RCC in the late '60s, you needed a key, as it was called a 'key club,' and for a fee, a key was issued to you," recalled Capone.
''At that time, this section of Randolph was mostly woods, with very little commerce on Route 139, and the club was actually in the woods, so to speak, with a dirt driveway, a small parking lot," he said. ''The lifestyle in the 1950s '60s and '70s was extremely discreet."
In 1978, the late Robert White bought the place with two business partners. White was determined to make the Randolph Country Club a destination for both gay men and women, unusual for that time, but the establishment remained discreet.
Since then the club has become more visible. During the 1990s, it worked with town and school officials on AIDS education initiatives; Capone joined the town's AIDS task force. The club donated ribbons to the schools and helped bring part of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to the Randolph High School for residents to view.
Today the Randolph Country Club caters to a diverse crowd: Members include straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.
''Everyone feels comfortable," said Capone.
It still operates as a private club, offering annual memberships for $100 or monthly passes for $7. But it also hosts events open to the public, like Ognib.
Ognib player Raeline DeMulis enjoys the laid-back atmosphere of the club. During a recent game, DeMulis, 54, was seated at a table with Natalie West of Holbrook, Brian DeCelle of Brockton, and Tim Jeanetti of Randolph.
Conversation and laughter flowed. West, 45, hit ''Ognib" and won an apple-scented candle.
DeMulis, who lives in Brockton, said traditional bingo halls can be ''high stress" because of the money involved, and ''God forbid you talk" during the games.
Decelle quickly added, ''And you can't have mimosas in church."
Ognib will continue through the beginning of May. Capone plans to put the game on hiatus during the summer because the club opens the pool, the volleyball court, and the outdoor bar and grill during the warm-weather months. Capone plans to bring Ognib back in the fall.
Randolph Country Club is located at 44 Mazzeo Drive (off Route 139). Sunday Ognib brunch starts at 1 p.m. For more information, call 781-961-2414.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com. 
