CAB concludes year with Casino Night: Gaggles of gamblers occupy game tables
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The Campus Activities Board (CAB) recently hosted “Casino Night” for students on Nov. 10 in the Smith University Center.
Amanda Wagner, the CAB faculty advisor and student life specialist, helped orchestrate the event.
“CAB made everything possible, from deciding who was going to be game masters to who was manning the front desk and other needs,” Wagner said. “They made it possible for the event to run and run well. I would consider it a success.”
Planning for the casino night started months in advance to minimize potential last-minute issues.
“We started planning in August for this one, getting the prizes for students to win then and fine-tuning the details,” Wagner said.
Wagner worked closely with the CAB executive chair and senior finance major, Antonio Pearson, to ensure the event was a success.
“This is CAB’s second year hosting a casino night, and we saw how successful it was last year, so we definitely wanted to bring it back,” Pearson said. “We host bingo nights every year, and they are always successful, so we thought it would be good to bring something bigger and more exciting, and who doesn’t like to gamble just a little? So, we knew students would enjoy it.”
CAB arranged for a company named “Party Train” to bring some materials for the casino night, including three blackjack tables, a roulette table, a Texas hold ’em table, slot machines and an inflatable photo booth.
According to Pearson, it took all of CAB to make this night come to fruition.
“CAB members were the dealers for each table, and we also gave out nachos and soda to students,” Pearson said. “When students first walked in, they were granted a cup with slot machine tokens and a cup with about $2,500 worth of casino chips to bet with.”
Although the event went smoothly, there were still a few obstacles that CAB had to pass.
“The biggest obstacle of the event was the weather,” Pearson said. “It did rain a little during the event, and we know many students do not like to leave their room when it was raining, so we were just hoping the rain would either let up or slow down just a little. Thankfully it did slow down a little, and a lot of students didn’t let the rain stop them, which was great to see.”
Senior general education major Tristan Shird said that the casino night was a hit and encouraged everyone at FMU to come out next time.
“I honestly thought that Casino Night was terrific,” Shird said. “Everybody was dressing up and acting so fancy. The nachos and cheese were delicious, and they had free candy. The games were fun and very challenging. I recommend everyone to come [next time].”
Senior political science major Nicholas Roch also enjoyed the event.
“Casino Night was a very good opportunity to get FMU students out for a night of fun without having to risk real money or leave campus,” Roch said.
