Students were able to participate in Casino Night on Aug. 31 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the USU Ballroom to play classic casino games, bingo and possibly participate in game show rounds.

There were many prizes to win during the night, including a grand prize of a three day/two night hotel and casino stay in Laughlin, NV (only eligible if the winner was at least 21 years of age). USU Live and Campus Rec hosted the event and provided free food and refreshments which were available to students.

Carla Jordan, one of the USU Live series programmers, described the annual Casino Night as “one of the first events that USU Live puts on… where we transform the ballroom into a casino where there is blackjack, bingo and other opportunities to win prizes.” Students that were at least 18 years old just needed to check in, while underage students and guests had to sign a waiver to enter. Jordan said that Casino Night “is an event to help promote student life and…to provide them a casino experience.” Volunteers who work at casinos and know how to manage games were at the event teaching students how to play games that they were unfamiliar with.

There may not have been slot machines but there were classic casino games such as craps, roulette, poker and other card games. Bingo seemed to be the game of choice at Casino Night. There were many students playing bingo that there was a shortage of bingo cards at one point. The game was kept challenging by changing up the shape to get a bingo. Between every two rounds of bingo, game show rounds occurred.

These game show rounds had games that were similar to ones played on The Price is Right. Guessing items from the cheapest to most expensive and matching the dollar bill to items were some of the games played during the game show rounds.

Second year student Yesenia Rosas won a practical prize after winning one of the game show rounds. Rosas said that “the printer I won is a useful prize because I was in need of a printer. I needed a printer to print out my school work.” Casino Night not only gave away fun prizes, but also useful ones that students need, like Rosas’ printer.

The student who won the grand prize trip to Laughlin, NV was transfer student Anthony Marquez. On how he felt on winning the Laughlin trip, Marquez said, “I was very happy since I never win in these.” After Marquez was announced as the winner, he took off his shirt and cheered. When asked if Marquez would come back to Casino Night next year, he said, “I definitely would, [it’s a] great way to get involved.”

Casino Night was an opportunity to enjoy a variety of games, eat free food and win cool prizes, but also a chance to make new friends and have fun. Overall, Casino Night appeared to be a success.