Casino night hits jackpot

By Lauren McGlone
Senior Staff Writer
January 31, 2007

Although at least part of the Lasallian student body is under the legal gambling age of 21, no one was carded at Casino Night, hosted by the Late Night La Salle and the fraternity Alpha Chi Rho.

This particular affair integrated a Late Night event with an introduction to one of La Salle’s several Greek organizations.

On Saturday, Jan. 27, the brothers of Alpha Chi Ro, or as they are more commonly called, Crow, hosted a night of gambling in the Union Ballroom. Real casino games included Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, Roulette, Blackjack and craps, all moderated by members of Crow.

La Salle’s AXP president, junior economics major Rick Barca, said that, “For the brothers, nothing is more fun than being given the opportunity to ‘play casino dealer’ for your friends and fellow members of the La Salle community.”

Participants wishing to display their gambling skills were granted a certain dollar amount in chips, allowing anyone to press their luck to gain more chips

For every $1,000 earned in chips, participants were given an additional chance to win in prize drawings at the end of the night.

Prizes included DVDs such as You, Me, and Dupree, Clerks II and Grey’s Anatomy-Season One, as well as Target Gift Cards and a grand prize of an iPod nano.

According to Barca, “everyone was a winner” at Casino Night. “This semester we had a great crowd turnout for Casino Night; several students were lucky enough to win a prize in our raffle, while the others had a great time learning how to play casino games while socializing.”

Anyone who wished to participate in the night’s events did not worry about gambling away precious dollars. The free gambling opportunity allowed anyone to bet chips without risking debt.

“The best part of Casino Night is teaching people that have never walked up to a table game how to play craps, Blackjack, poker or Roulette,” he said. “Real casinos can be intimidating while assuming that players already possess a knowledge of the game.”

mcglonel1@lasalle.edu