It may not have been meant to cause so much of a commotion, but you know this fellow knew that there would be a big reaction to his statement, otherwise what was the point of calling bingo? Surely as a security guard he must have had some training in crowd or mob mentality, but perhaps not. Often times what starts out as a joke goes horribly wrong, even in such an environment as a bingo hall.
I think the key here is that Mr. Whaley not only perpetrated the crime, but it appears that he could have come out of it untouched had he just had the decency to apologize to the patrons and hosts for his misdeed. That just makes it seem as if he was happy that the game was interrupted and that the players were stirred up. When dealing with people and their money, you can't just joke around. The players all got that feeling of disappointment, some may have never gotten back into the bingo playing mood after that incident. What was this guy thinking, anyway?