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THE All Star Hotel has closed for 2025 but what happened while its doors were open?
Last weekend, there was an epic event in Blackpool. There were sequins, celebrities and dancing.
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It drew in the crowds and sparkled brighter than the illuminations. It was this seaside town’s party of the season.
Oh, and (in Sun Bingo’s unbiased opinion) it was much more exciting than the show being put on in The Blackpool Tower Ballroom on the same weekend…
I am, of course, talking about Sun Bingo’s All Star Hotel 2025!
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For one weekend only, we transformed the Ruskin Hotel into our very own Sun Bingo All Star Hotel.
With exclusive use of the Ruskin, everyone there had travelled from near and far to celebrate another fantastic year of Sun Bingo fun.
Spotting a few of our excellent chat hosts, I asked Host Lexi how she was feeling. “I’m excited! I’ve been a couple of times before and it’s always a good weekend. We get to meet a lot of the players in person, which we don’t normally get to do.”
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The buzzing anticipation for the upcoming acts was everywhere as I managed to grab Sun Bingo’s very own Chris Ashton before he and TV personality, Sandi Bogle, took to the stage to be the hosts with the most(s).
“This is our fourth year and we’re very excited. We’ve got some great acts lined up! You can’t beat a good All Star Hotel, it’s a full house of entertainment.”
With the guests checked in, refreshed for the evening and making full use of the open bar, it was finally time to sit down and get the party going.
Sensational vocalist Mandi L had no problem doing just that. An All Star favourite, Mandi said: “Everyone’s like family now, they’re so lovely. They make me feel so welcome.”
Mandi and her powerful voice returned the favour, welcoming our guests to Friday evening’s entertainment.
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It was the perfect starting note before music magic transformed into real magic with mind-reading double act Interlinked (featuring Sean Heydon and Kerry Jay).
Their spellbinding routine involved a blindfolded Kerry “seeing through Sean’s eyes”.
From eyes to ears, this evening put the ‘sense’ into sensational thanks to the next acts.
They were the immensely talented Union J bandmate Jaymi Hensley and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Wayne Woodward.
Finally, the evening was drawn to a spectacular close by vocal harmony group, The Overtones.
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However, our guests’ thoughts were far from their comfy beds. The next morning was full of stories from the night before, including tales of hardcore players keeping the party going well into the small hours.
One such late night reveller was Leanne from Preston, who revealed what happened next. “We ended up going to walk about in town… I feel a bit rough this morning… I’ll make up for it at teatime.”
Sure enough, there wasn’t a sore heard in sight by the time we gathered again for the day’s entertainment.
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Now, it wouldn’t be a bingo event if there weren’t a few games of the big B-I-N-G-O itself, and it wouldn’t be a Sun Bingo bingo event without an exclusive Shelley quiz from our very own sunny Shelley, released from her broom cupboard for good behaviour.
Top prizes for our lucky in-person winners included bingo bonuses up to £100 and vouchers for our Sun Bingo Christmas Day hampers, which have everything you need to make it an excellent festive feast.
Winners included ‘Jacksie’ from Ellesmere Port. “I’ve been a couple times now so I do know people… Everybody gets on. There’s something for everyone.”
That sentiment rang true in the All Star Soap Chat as well because we’d invited guests from across the soaps’ universe.
Hollyoaks, Coronation Street and EastEnders fans alike sat back and enjoyed the inside scoop from Anna Passey, Jodie Prenger and Danielle Harold.
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Our guests heard details about the upcoming ‘Corriedale’ crossover (scheduled to air in early 2026), what it’s like to work with legends such as Barbara Windsor, and how the actors manage to run down the cobbles in high heels.
Thanks to some brilliant audience questions, Sun Bingo exclusively learnt which star would never do I’m a Celeb, what ‘meat bingo’ is all about and who would still be making soaps, just not the sort you watch on TV, if they weren’t an actor.
By the time our insider chat was finished, it was time to dance with a Strictly masterclass, led by the fantastic Ian Waite.
Ian later proved that he was not only a great teacher, but also a stunning performer as we were treated to a showcase of his talents, something our Ring, Spin, Win presenter Lorna can attest to as she was asked to assist with an on-stage costume change.
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While the Ruskin wasn’t hit by the Strictly curse, it was the victim of a scandal. Miss Belinda Scandal, to be exact.
Making her fabulous return, Belinda’s drag act had the audience crying, mostly with laughter… some due to her legendary takedowns!
Speaking of legends, Saturday evening’s performers were the definition of music royalty as we got to party with The Fizz and S Club’s Jon & Jo.
Singing classics guaranteed to make you get up and dance, our guests got to see out the scheduled entertainment with a bang.
As someone whose local club always ended the night with Reach for the Stars, there was something quite emotional about dancing with our players one last time to this song as another All Star Hotel came to a close.
With check out looming on Sunday morning, I reflected on what makes these weekends so brilliant.
My answer is that they bring together a community that thrives online but doesn’t get many chances to do so off screen. No matter who I spoke to over the weekend, those that had never been before and those that were All Star alumni, everyone said how much they loved our All Star Hotel weekends.
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I met people who had formed real, meaningful friendships thanks to first speaking through our chat rooms. There were players who spoke about not having many reasons to go out but thanks to All Star, they were having a brilliant weekend full of fun and laughter.
If there is one player’s story that perfectly encapsulates how much Sun Bingo can mean to our community, it’s that of Wally Walster from Blackpool (300m from the All Star Hotel). His proximity is no coincidence.
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“I’ve been to the Ruskin many a time over the last few years. This year, I decided, through the love of Ruskin and Sun Bingo, to up sticks, sell my house and move over to Blackpool from the other side of the country.
I moved 130 miles, from Scunthorpe, and I’ve bought a flat just round the corner from here… I love coming here and meeting all the players. Hopefully I’ve got many more years ahead of coming here and meeting people… I try to meet all of the players, I like to know who everyone is… we welcome all the newbies.
It’s always fun… I still lack confidence a bit but it’s massively improved since coming here.”
Bingo groups have always been known as tight-knit communities and it’s understandable why some might think that the surge in online bingo has had a detrimental effect on the experience.
However, weekends like All Star Hotel are proof that the true spirit of bingo – where the focus is on fostering a fun, welcoming atmosphere – is very much still in play.
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Katrina Vasey – Bingo Editor, The Sun
After graduating from Southampton University with a degree in English Literature, Katrina Vasey worked as a Content Editor for Law Business Research’s publication the International Law Office. Katrina joined The Sun in 2022 as the Bingo Editor, covering the four gaming platforms: Sun Bingo, Fabulous Bingo, Sun Vegas and Fabulous Vegas.
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