Casino Night brings a taste of Vegas to NIC
(photo by: Ethan Schlussler)
Spirits were high, and so were bets, as play money circulated through the SUB basement. Dice rolled, cards were flipped and many high-fives were slapped.
Some of the ASNIC members and OARS (Orientation Advising Registration Services) leaders who organized Thursday’s Casino Night may have been a bit put off by the previous week’s winter school closures, but despite a short postponement, the group pulled it off with Vegas flair.
“We all decided to do a casino night to do something fun and get everyone involved,” said Cassie Wright, 23, Snohomish, Wash., family and consumer studies. Wright volunteered to deal blackjack for the evening.
“I hope people can mingle around and find some new things they want to get involved in, like Student Events or even be an OARS leader, you know, get involved while they’re in college because it’s a lot more fun when you do,” she said.
The games were splayed on authentic-looking green felt gaming tables rented from Fun and Games Casino Equipment Rental Co. Along with blackjack, dice games “4-5-6” and “High-Low” were offered. Yellow, green and magenta bills with denominations up to $1,000 were tossed down as bets as players cheered each other on and vied for raffle tickets. A spread of munchies and apple cider was set out for everyone to enjoy.
Amanda Behringer, 26, Adrian, Mich., business administration, has been with OARS about a year and a half. She greeted people as they descended the SUB stairs and handed them envelopes filled with $2,000 in “cash.”
“I’m hoping that we get a big turnout and people interested in orientation have fun learning who they go to school with and come to other events,” Behringer said.
“The school offers so many things for people to come to and I don’t think a lot of students recognize that there’s a lot of options out there for them,” she said.
OARS leader Aaron Baldwin, 21, Hayden, business administration and accounting, buzzed around before the event began. He said the organizers had to secure prizes and set up food along with other tasks, but everybody helped out.
“We’re estimating and hoping for 100 kids,” he said. “It’s free for everyone. We’re hoping to attract new students from spring and last fall to help them get to know other kids so they feel like they have a place where they can meet other people.”
Participants exchanged every 100 fun bucks for one raffle ticket. About 20 prizes from businesses such as the Mica Peak Book Exchange, Kohl’s, Jamba Juice, Fred Meyer and Bath and Body Works included NIC gear, a Memorex clock radio, DVDs, gift cards, cozy blankets, iPods and an Amazon Kindle. Numbered cups were set in front of the prizes so people could put their names in to win what they most desired. Winners were contacted after the event.
“This is for fun, and that’s why we’re here,” said Ernie Phillips, owner of Fun and Games. “I’m all fun. I don’t like to work, so this is what we do. And the more people we get, the more fun it is.”
The jovial Phillips, donned in a black dealer’s vest, walked from table to table, keeping play fair and rejuvenating hopes of busted players by slipping them a few fun bucks. Phillips spent 39 years orchestrating Bingo with a nonprofit organization before he bought Fun and Games in 1996. He keeps all the equipment in a special garage at his Spokane home.
When he bought the company, he said he forgot an important part of the setup: something to transfer the games around in.
“I use my wife’s Ford Escort,” he said.
Information on becoming an OARS leader can be found on NIC’s website under “Orientation.” Applications for spring 2012 are available.
