'Bingo' offender banned from saying word

COVINGTON, Ky., March 20 (UPI) -- An 18-year-old Kentucky man has been banned from saying the word "bingo" after he disrupted a hall full of players by shouting the word, officials say.

Austin Whaley, of Covington, was ordered by a district judge not to say "bingo" for six months after he was cited for second-degree disorderly conduct, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Tuesday.

Police said Whaley and several other youths entered a Covington bingo hall last month and falsely yelled "Bingo!"

Thinking someone had won, the hall quit operating, delaying the resumption of the game by several minutes, Park Hills Police Sgt. Richard Webster wrote in his citation.

"When [players] realized it wasn't a real bingo, they started hooting and hollering and yelling and cussing," Webster said. "People take their bingo very seriously."

Whaley, who had no prior criminal record, could have been sentenced to 90 days in jail and a $250 fine. If he doesn't get in trouble for the next six months, the charge will be dismissed.

And he obviously can't play bingo, or at least announce that he's won.