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Students gambled and gamed through the night Friday, Sept. 9 at the Gorilla Activities Board’s (GAB) annual Casino Night.
The Casino Night took place in the Overman Student Center Ballroom from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. Real money was not used during the night, but students still received the casino experience with chips, cards, strategy, and friendly competition.
The night featured classic casino games like craps, poker, blackjack, and slot machines, as well as oldschool board games such as Sorry, Scrabble, and Jenga.
“Casino Night is kind of a tradition, so it’s something we do every year, especially for incoming freshmen and transfer students who are kind of new to campus.” said Abby Adams, GAB campus community chair, junior in marketing and management. “(It’s) one of the big events that they might get to know more people (at).”
Students enjoyed festive snacks named appropriately for the Casino Night, including “poker chips and salsa,” “spin it spinach dip,” and “pinwheel-of-fortune” sandwiches. Event staff also provided an old-fashioned popcorn machine and served popcorn in traditional red and white bags.
“I think it’s going really great,” Adams said. “(It) looks like people are having fun. We’re also doing trivia questions throughout the night to try to give out free shirts and if they have our promo cards they get five free raffle tickets.”
The Casino Night also featured a “selfie station” with different accessories participants could use to take pictures with friends, as well as a raffle held at midnight where students could win various prizes.
“We normally have about 150 (people), and honestly with the weather being kind of rainy and it being a Friday night, I’m really surprised, but we have a really great turn out,” Adams said.
Skyler Jones, GAB vice president of membership, said she’s not sure how Casino Night started but GAB has hosted it for at least four years.
Students of all different years, majors, and ages crowded around several tables set up around the ballroom, dividing the room in half—one side for casino games and the other for board games.
“I’m glad they had the choice between actual casino games and board games for those who don’t play casino (games),” said Aspen McCuistion, undeclared freshman.
McCuistion said she hopes more students attend next year’s Casino Night because she had a lot of fun, though that the rainy evening was a downer.
“It’s pleasant, it’s very nice, a nice welcoming, open environment,” said Talya Crouch, freshman in graphic design communications. “I heard about it (Casino Night) because I went on a freshman experience tour … we went around and we went over to the GAB office, it’s part of the tour, and (they) talked about how Casino Night was happening, and I thought ‘hey, that’d be a fun event to go to.’”
Crouch said for those who did not attend Casino Night this year they should attend next year for the experience, fun, and chance to meet new people.
