Abbot Casino: Gambling in Style

Prep Billy O’Handley nervously glances at the spinning roulette, his fingers fiddling with the edges of his neatly pressed tuxedo. As the spinning wheel stops he grins, scooping four blue chips into his hand. Last Saturday night, Abbot Hall hosted its annual casino event in Grainger Auditorium, where students dress up, socialize and partake in mock gambling.

For the students in Abbot, the casino event serves as a welcomed dorm tradition and bonding experience. Every year, the uppers in the dorm plan the school wide event, creating a casino set up with poker tables and chips for games such as blackjack, Texas Hold’em and roulette. Abbot residents act as dealers, distributing chips to students at the beginning of the event and running each table.

To help create a realistic casino atmosphere, students attend the event in formal attire. Since prom is an exclusive event for seniors and their dates, Abbot Casino serves as an opportunity for the entire student body to dress up in elegant clothes and experience a classy atmosphere. Many use the event as an excuse to pose for hundreds of pictures with their friends and change their profile pictures on Facebook.

According to lower and Abbot resident Francisco Cedeno, the chance to dress up can help students overcome their winter depressions and repetitive routines. During winter term, many students spend their Saturday nights lounging around their dorms in sweatpants and anticipate the prospect of attending Abbot Casino.

“The winter is such a depressing time across campus,” Cedeno said. “I think it really helps to have one night where people can dress up and enjoy themselves. It’s just really uplifting and re-energizing.”

Lower Michelle Lee agreed with Cedeno. For her, the highlight of the event was getting ready with her friends. She spent longer actually preparing for the event than she spent gambling and wandering around Grainger.

“It was fun for me to get ready with my friends and dress up to pretend like I was a high roller,” she said. “It’s cold and miserable right now, so this is an excuse to go do something fun for a night.”

However, because Abbot Casino provides a unique opportunity for students to get out of their dorms during the winter, the event can get crowded and develop long lines for games. One of the changes implemented this year was the addition of seat-less tables. While standing felt slightly less comfortable, the tables opened up more space for walking and encouraged students to move between tables.

According to Abbot upper Will Haering, the idea of standing tables served as a last minute improvisation after the casino company forgot to bring short legs for the tables. Haering was impressed by his peers’ abilities to turn the mistake into a bonus for the event, and was excited to see that “some small problems in the beginning went well in the end.”

Besides the standing tables, Abbot students tried to keep the event as similar as possible to past years. With a history of success, they didn’t see any major issues that needed to be addressed. According to upper Levon Brunson, the students focused more on replicating “the core concept,” opposed to honing in on minute details. “Once you see something works, it’s good to just keep going with it,” Brunson said.

However, some students felt a few smaller problems still persisted throughout the night. Even with the standing tables, for prep Ryan Nguy, Grainger felt too small for the event. The large crowds of people also resulted in an early exhaustion of food and drinks the second half of the event.

“The winter is such a depressing time across campus.  I think it really helps to have one night where people can dress up and enjoy themselves. It’s just really uplifting and re-energizing.”

Despite the minor problems, Nguy still described the atmosphere of the event as “perfect.” As a prep, the event was a great way for him to meet more people and further bond with his friends. Like Nguy, prep Jack Baker was impressed by the realistic environment of the event, as well as the exciting experience for him as a new student.

“I got to see a lot of new faces I had never seen before,” Baker said. “I felt like I was in an actual casino as I played blackjack and roulette with friends making the experience even more real.”

The event also helped unite many Abbot students as they bonded while working together to set up the event. Casino night is one of Abbot’s most valued traditions, and they were grateful for the opportunity to host it once again.

“It is a very special thing that everyone in the dorm takes a part,” Haering said. “Everyone is there at night dealing or participating in the event. It means a lot. It is something that we bond over and [a chance to] come together as a dorm.”

Cedeno agreed with Haering. For him, the night was a huge success. Not only did he enjoy himself, but the people around him were light-hearted and seemed like they were having a great time.

“Abbot Casino is a time to bond with dorm mates and have fun while making sure you do your best dealing the games,” he said. “I had people at my table all night. To see people who are just happy and having fun and to see Grainger filled for the entire night felt really good for me.”