The roulette wheel spins, chips clicking together and Frank Sinatra covers channel the atmosphere of a 1970s Las Vegas-type casino at Utah Tech University’s Casino Night.
Patrons were dressed in fur coats, full tuxedos, black dresses with strappy heels and ’70s-style button-down Hawaiian shirts.
Though our own casino lacks the thick, smoky air typical of the setting, the mood was nearly identical. Students were betting with real poker chips on games typical to casinos, like blackjack, roulette and craps.
People gathered shoulder to shoulder around game tables and pushed their chips toward the dealer. In almost every way, it was just like playing in a real casino.
The only difference lies within the betting since students do not place bets with real money. Instead, everyone aimed to get more chips to trade them in and enter their name in a raffle to win prizes.
One of the event organizers and a Utah Tech Student Association member Sophia Haughn, a sophomore biology major from Columbus, Ohio, said the way students win prizes this year differs from previous years.
“They win various prizes throughout the night,” Haughn said. “This year, actually, we’re doing it a bit differently than before. We would just do prizes at the end of the night, but tonight we’re actually doing it periodically throughout the night.”
The event also featured live music from two performers. The first performer, Logan Rawson, a sophomore marketing major from Ogden, performed several covers that added to the vintage casino vibe of the evening, with big band jazz songs like “Blue Moon,” “The Way You Look Tonight” and the crowd pleaser, “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.
“I got to sing a bunch of songs, the people were loving it, and then in the end, I got to [join in] and play some blackjack,” Rawson said.
Not only did students enjoy the fun games, but they also recognized the importance of events like this when it comes to bringing students together and connecting with each other. Events for students are an important part of academia. The ability to connect outside of the classroom and spend time with peers in a fun atmosphere is good for morale.
Students like Emanuel Enyinnaya, a senior management major from Nigeria, said his favorite part of the event was, “Meeting new people, you know, getting to interact with a bunch of people… it’s been fun.”
There were a lot of students there to make connections with. Students were standing shoulder to shoulder during the peak hours of the night. It was nearly impossible to find a seat at any gaming table at the event’s busiest hour.
The event has been hosted annually and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Students seem to love the atmosphere and love to have an excuse to get dressed up and play games.
Casino Night, with all of its games, prizes and performances, was like playing in a real casino where students could come together and connect with each other.
