SAA’s Casino Night Attracts a Large Crowd

By Janice Tieperman
News Editor

On April 12, students took a break from the accumulating end-of-semester stress by trying their luck at various games at Casino Night, an event sponsored by Student Activity Association.

“Tonight, I’ve been playing Blackjack,” said Tyrell Clark, a junior theatre major.  “I love that game—it’s my favorite, I used to play it a lot as a kid.  It has a lot to do with luck, a little bit of skill, but when you know certain people, you have to read their behaviors, because they know how to play game sometimes better than you can.”

Clark himself had a great amount of luck that night.

“I won 700 or 800 coins in less than thirty minutes.  They have a new poker set, Starbucks gift cards, and some other prizes such as playing cards,” he said.

In addition to these prizes, complimentary refreshments were available along with the option to take commemorative photos at a photo booth.

“I’d say it was a definitely a long and hard process planning the event,” explained junior Kayla Bowe, one of the organizers of the event. “It took us awhile, but we all came together really well as a team.”

Senior Emily Tooker, another organizer from SAA, agreed.

“I’m super particular about everything, so when I found out we were going to do this project I already had a to-do list.  I got really excited and liked putting everything together systematically,” she added.

Both students affirmed the importance of student involvement in recreational activities, and their hopes for increased student participation in the future.

Freshman Sean Chandler shared these sentiments.

“I would definitely go to an event like this again,” he said.  “If students have to time to relax and enjoy themselves, they should definitely go for it.”

Similar to Clark, Chandler found himself on a lucky streak during some of the casino games.

“Blackjack has been my favorite part of the night.  I’ve doing really well so far,” he said.

A variety of other games were enjoyed during the event, including roulette.  Unlike the high stakes stress associated with casino games, all participating students seemed to be having a great time.

The friendly environment was accentuated with live music that continued for much of the event.

“I think the students planned the event very well,” remarked Assistant Director of Student Engagement for SAA.  “They organized the event from start to finish, they developed a marketing plan, and followed through with all of the marketing aspects that it takes to make the event successful.”

Students who were not able to attend this Casino Night should not worry, as SAA as many other similar, fun events on the horizon.

“I think you may see this again in the fall, some similar student activity where we have casino games and other interactive events and music,” added Bello.

Email Janice at:

jtieperman@live.esu.edu 

Correction: 

The article originally cited CAB as the sponsored organization. The event was organized by SAA. The student organization of the event was unaffiliated with CAB