Casino

Putting together a charity fundraising event like a Casino Night Fundraiser can be a lot of work unless you’re well organized. Events like these often include live entertainment, a catered dinner, live and silent auctions, sponsorships, ticket sales, tax deductible donations, and a host of other details that require plenty of advance planning.

The plus side is that a Casino Night is a great excuse for adults to get all dressed up and have a fun time, so turnouts are impressive. There are lots of charitable groups who need to raise large amounts of operating funds and these events really deliver if done well.

Getting started
You need a strong crew of volunteers with a passion for getting things done. Group the tasks by category and divide them up by skill set of your volunteers. It’s best to have them work singly or in pairs, partnering veterans with newcomers. Having too many people assigned to a task just slows it down.

The only exception to that rule is in seeking donations of auction items. Have everyone call or better yet, visit their contacts to ask for their help with donated products or services. Seek out things with a true “Wow” factor to generate a strong buzz of excitement around your auctions.

For your games of chance, contact party supply and equipment rental firms. In major metropolitan areas, there are also companies that specialize in supplying this equipment and many even supply staff to run the games, deal the cards, etc.

Make sure you have all permits well ahead of time. Some jurisdictions have special restrictions on gambling-related activities even when they are for charity and don’t involve cash winnings, so research this carefully.

Raising funds
A Casino Night fundraiser offers dozens of ways to raise funds for charity, including silent auctions, live auctions, raffles, poker tournaments, individual sponsorships, corporate sponsorships, cash bar, gourmet catered dinner, and ticket sales.

Set your ticket prices high enough to cover all your expenses. In some instances, a high-dollar ticket price makes the event exclusive and will help attract a wealthy roster of supporters.

You can price tickets differently for those who might not want a catered dinner or gambling chips included. Some people won’t and you do want as many people as possible attending and bidding on your auction items.

To boost ticket sales to a black-tie affair, you’ll want your meal catered by a trendy restaurant that has a certain cachet. God press coverage mentioning society and celebrity attendees will also help sell out your fundraiser.

Publicity
Besides publicizing your Casino Night fundraising event in your newsletter, by email, and through word of mouth, to get a big turnout, you have to get media coverage.

Put together a press release summarizing the highlights of the evening and emphasize why you are raising funds. Include details on the entertainment, the sponsors, prominent attendees, your best auction items, etc.

Include full contact information as well as the obvious information such as place, date, and time. Send it to all the major media outlets in your marketplace well ahead of your fundraiser. Include a group photo such as the organizing committee or your group’s board of directors.

Summary
A Casino Night is a great way to raise funds for your cause because it gives people an excuse to dress up and have fun. Sure it’s a lot of work pulling it all together, but the results are well worth it.

This type of event offers multiple ways to raise funds and is easy to promote. It also lends itself well to becoming an annual tradition. Plan everything in detail, divide the tasks, solicit auction items and corporate sponsorships, and have dinner catered.

By: Kimberly Reynolds

Here is one of our Creative Party Theme Ideas.

As the saying goes: “Life’s a gamble.” So I think there is no better way of celebrating a birthday than a “gamble” night. Have a “Casino Party,” with rolling the dice and playing cards all night. With a Casino night there is so much you can do to make sure you have a really fun party. The theme can be as elegant or as outrages as you wish.

Of course you will not be able to use real money for this but you can have a lot of fun with homemade chips and play money. Make play “money” and “chips” with photos of the birthday person and give each guest a set amount when the party starts. At the end of the party the “winners” can receive prizes and make sure you have fun consolation prizes for the losers. The important thing is that you are celebrating the great gamble that life really is in the perfect style for doing so.

Different style casino parties that can fit into these creative party theme ideas:

1. The Classic “James Bond” Style Casino:

You can go for a grand James Bond Style Casino event complete with tuxedos and a full and flowing bar. With this theme you have to make sure that your guests are aware of the dress code. Your décor will obviously incorporate your theme and will include gaming tables and a roulette wheel. Make sure your decorations are elegant to suit your “glamorous” theme.

The food and drinks for this party should include old fashioned elegant cocktails and elegant snacks. Set your party up in such a way that your guests can move around and play as the mood takes them.

2. A Casual Casino Theme:

You can also opt for the kind of casual “tropical” kind of casino theme as many casinos these days have this theme. Here your decorations will be more outrageous and even “overdone.” Let your guests know what the theme is so they can dress accordingly. You still need your bar flowing with drinks but now you will concentrate on interesting “tropical” cocktails and snacks. Obviously you will still need your gaming tables and roulette wheel. Improvise to save money.

For both these themes the birthday cake can be decorated to look like a gaming table. This is very easily done by making a Photostat of a picture with edible ink on rice paper and then you simply place it on top of the cake.

The Invitations:

You can get your invitations online quite easily or you can print your own. Again you must go with the method that works best with the theme of the Casino birthday party you are throwing. These days your choices are virtually unlimited. According to your theme you can make the invitations either very elegant or, on the other hand, humorous. Remember to let your invitations begin the party theme and work from there to build up your theme and party.

Now for some more general ideas to incorporate into your casino theme:

1. Decorations:

You should not have any problem getting lots of casino related decorations at party stores. From fuzzy dice to oversized cardboard cards and hundreds of things in between. Depending on your sub-theme, you can go as elegant as you’d like with your casino night birthday party. You can also go for some of the more “party” themed casino settings that you will be able to find in the party shops as well.

2. General Food Ideas:

Try to display your food “buffet” style if it is at all possible as we all know that it is a “given” at any self respecting casino. If possible have catering staff circulating with drinks all night. For your food finger snacks are the best. Make them as elegant as possible for your “formal” casino theme and as fun and elaborate as possible for your “tropical” theme. It might be a good idea to browse recipe sites for a few good ideas. Another great addition to your buffet table would be a chocolate fountain with plenty of marshmallows, pretzels, and fruits to cover.

3. Music And Sound:

Get recordings of “casino” sounds such as money pouring out of slot machines. The music will have to fit into your theme but, do keep your guests taste in mind. Even if a certain kind of music fit in with your theme, if your guests hate it, it is not going to work. You can of course skip the slot machine sounds in, especially, your “formal” casino as the gaming tables and roulette tables are normally separate in such casino.

I am sure you will be able to have a really fun party with these Creative Party Theme Ideas.

By: Grietha Du Plessis