Day 4 of the MS Bar convention starts with a bevy of competing breakfasts, but culminates in the most serious of games in the Sunshine State, BINGO.

• Christian Legal Society Prayer Breakfast, Fellows of the Young Lawyers, MS Chapter American Board of Trial Advocates Meeting, MS State Alumni all have Breakfasts, to name a few.

There are various judicial conferences throughout the day, but everything is wrapped up by 2:30 for the annual Hunger Games…aka BINGO!

BINGO Thursday is the most competitive event at the Convention, including the golf and tennis tourneys and the crab hunt. Hands down BINGO is the most serious.

Get there early as the large ballroom fills quickly. Dozens of 12-top tables span the room, with a plethora of prizes on the dais up front. Show up 5 minutes late and you will be sitting on the floor or standing against the wall.

Action is quick. The games cover the gamut of bingo card challenges and the prizes – – the prizes include; pottery, yard art, home decor, inflatable rafts, animals and desserts, bird houses, candle sticks, tea towels, kitchenware, small electronic gizmos and large beach towels.

When a player shouts “BINGO!,” audible groans come from the judge’s table. “Double check that card!,” can be heard throughout the building. It was a BINGO!

Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi and has won every year he has attended bingo…May the odds be ever in your favor.