SAN ANTONIO — Step into Bandera Bingo on San Antonio's northwest side any day of the week and you're bound to shuffle through a few regulars, including Tanya Vela.
"Nooooo!" she shouted as she lost another round of bingo. This hasn't been Vela's night.
But just as fast as the money goes, it can come back for all who play late-night bingo, where the games don't start until 11 p.m.
"(During) late-night hours, most of the older generation, they're probably in bed. So main ages, it's 30 to 50," Bandera Bingo Manager Eric Plata said.
All sorts of people come to the bingo hall for all sorts of reasons.
"I'm bored and I need money," one player said with a laugh.
"Honestly it relaxes me," another added.
These players buy bingo cards, pull tabs and tablets by the dozen until the early hours—all in hopes of winning big.
"The thing is, it's gambling," Vela said. "And you win some and you lose some and sometimes you lose more than you win.
"But the thing is, it's a game of chance, and I love taking chances"
Chances these players all dabble in, while the business does the same for students just a few miles away.
"It was actually surprising to me," Chana Finch said as she stood in the hall of Antonian College Preparatory High School.
It's a bit of an unorthodox relationship. Antonian Prep is where gambling meets giving.
"It has truly been a benefit to the school," said Finch, the school's dean of business operations.
This Catholic high school is one of more than a dozen organizations that receive donations from Golden Bingo's profits. Golden Bingo has more than a dozen locations throughout San Antonio.
"So what we have been able to do every year is utilize 100% of those proceeds to help financial assistance. To be able to assist families that have a financial need to be able to afford them the opportunity to attend a catholic school and have catholic education."
A bet to better a student's future, with a jackpot payout.
"Oftentimes, the recipients of these funds give back," Finch said. "They go on and graduate from colleges and universities all across the nation and they give back to Antonian and say, 'I want to pay it forward.' So that in itself is rewarding as well."
"It's very nice," Vela said, back at Bander Bingo, in regards to the charitable donations.
The contributions serve as a greater reminder for these bingo patrons: As they play to get paid, they're winning someone a golden opportunity.