Students crowd around a poker table at the Rathskeller.
Laura Patterson | The Montclarion
Student Life at Montclair State (SLAM) hosted a Casino Night at the Student Center this past Sunday, Nov. 12. The event was held to promote the Great Gatsby-themed Winter Ball at the end of November.
“We decided to do a casino night as a part of SLAM’s weekend takeover,” said SLAM’s On-Campus Events Chairman Mary Egan. “On Saturday, [SLAM] had a scavenger hunt and earlier this afternoon, we planned an event with ice cream and giant board games.”
Egan also mentioned that the weekend festivities took about two months to plan.
The casino night featured a game of craps, three separate tables for Blackjack and one for Russian roulette. The dealers at the event had previously worked tables at professional casinos. Soft-shelled tacos, churros, sodas and cupcakes were also served.
Students were able to enjoy Mexican cuisine, such as churros and soft tacos, at the Casino Night.
Laura Patterson | The Montclarion
Eddie Veltre, a junior filmmaking major, arrived early and eagerly waited in line before the doors opened.
“I love the games even though it’s not like Caesars Palace,” said Veltre. “It’s still an awesome event.”
Veltre played craps first and then made his way to Blackjack afterward. He also helped himself to the free dinner and is a huge fan of SLAM.
“I go to all their events,” Veltre said. “I came to an event like this last year and I won big, but then I lost it all at the end. They’re ‘SLAM fam’ to me.”
Carmen Grandovic, a freshman history major, was very excited for the event and dressed up in his best outfit.
“I wanted to dress up and do the casino mob look,” Grandovic said. “I thought it would be fun tonight, and it really is.”
Grandovic went to the event because he had previous experience in gambling.
Students roll the dice in a game of chance at the Casino Night.
Laura Patterson | The Montclarion
“I’ve purchased scratch off tickets and I’ve used the slot machines,” Grandovic said. “I used to throw away $20 [bills] like they were water, so it was fun to do that tonight.”
Across the room, two friends attended the event together after they had heard about it through an email from the school and decided to check it out.
“I had fun, they even showed me how to play blackjack, so I’m happy about it,” said Tatiana Ricks, a freshman fashion major.
While she enjoyed the event and the free T-shirt, Ricks did have some suggestions for the next event.
“Definitely more games,” Ricks said. “I know there [were] a couple Blackjack tables and two other games but having a [more] realistic casino would’ve been cool.”
Her friend Karina Velarde, a psychology major, agreed with her comment.
“It wasn’t bad,” Velarde said. “[The events] are good for when you don’t have anything else to do, like today.”
Velarde also mentioned that the event was convenient to have on campus prior to starting out a new school week.
A student holding up a Winter Ball sweatshirt as a prize for participating in a game.
Laura Patterson | The Montclarion
After playing a game, SLAM rewarded participants with a free black shirt that had “Winter Ball 2017” printed in white surrounded by gold designs.
