On Friday night the Dahnke Ballroom in Duncan Student Center was transformed into a casino. Students showed up decked out in suits and dresses hoping to hit the jackpot.
The annual casino night is McGlinn Hall's signature event and it raises money for St. Adalbert Catholic School in South Bend. Junior Lauren Dungan, the event’s commissioner, spoke on what it means to the community.
“It's just such a fun thing, the McGlinn girls get so excited about. It's really about reaching out to community partners and everyone gets super into it,” Dungan said. "I think what's really interesting about it is that it has such a strong community and having that built-in support ... is really better than I could have expected."
All of the dealers for the casino games are girls who live in McGlinn.
“There are classes and information sessions that teach us how to run the games and then on the day of the event, we are partnered with someone. It's a great time to show up for the hall,” sophomore Eliza Thayer said.
Although this year’s numbers are still being calculated, the event usually raises around $8,000 for its cause. Students are asked for a $5 donation to enter and are given a bag of fake money that can be spent throughout the night on various games. The games included Texas hold’em, blackjack, poker, roulette and more classic casino games students could try their hand at.
Students could also use the money they earned throughout the night to buy raffle tickets where they had the chance to win anything from Stanley Cups and Nothing Bundt Cakes to a signed photo of Marcus Freeman. Students could also purchase various types of mocktails throughout the night.
Students had mixed feelings throughout the night as their winnings began to dwindle, others screamed and cheered after winning the jackpot.
Dante Lee, a sophomore engineering student in Keough Hall said, “I'm actually at the low point of my career. My blackjack career. I just lost about 90% of my funds. I was feeling good until then. I made smart bets but that's the game we're playing. It's one mistake and you're over.”
“Games like this bring out the Mendoza in me ... the reason I put that last bet on was because my friends told me to hit and I knew I should have stayed. I was at 14 and the dealer was obviously gonna bust," Lee continued. "But at the end of the day ... it's a game of fun. It's for charity. And we'll bounce back."
"I love gambling. I love, you know, spending a lot of money. But I also love spending time with the community,” Mason Hedges, a sophomore in Dillon Hall, said.
For most, these games brought out their competitive nature and discourse often revolved around who truly won the round with dealers needing to get involved to resolve disputes.
“My favorite part of the night was playing poker and gambling," Howard Hall sophomore Olivia Murrin said. She continued, "But the highlight was beating all the men. And how one of the dealers called out the men at the table for folding and losing to girls. Of course, seeing friends was also fun.”
