Students Gamble in Abbot Casino
“I thoroughly enjoyed Abbot Casino, and I’m excited to attend the event next year,” Potter said.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of Abbot Casino, groups of Exonians bet their chips on gambling games in hopes that the luck of the dice would be on their side. Outside Grainger auditorium, well-dressed students line up in front of a sheer backdrop to have their photos taken.
All the members of Abbot Hall started preparing to host the event early in winter term. Unlike in other dorms where the privilege of hosting dances or teas is usually assigned to proctors, the uppers of Abbot Hall took on the responsibility of organizing Abbot Casino. To streamline the process of preparing for the event, the uppers organized their dormmates into groups and made sure that each person would be available to tend a booth.
Several weeks leading up to the event, the uppers began to communicate with Assistant Director of Student Activities Kelly McGahie and Student Center Coordinator Daisy Jobarteh, to ask for help organizing the details of the event. Together, McGahie and Jobarteh helped the student organizers get various 1920s-inspired decorations to bring the theme of the night, The Great Gatsby, to Grainger Auditorium.
Although the members of Abbot Hall prepared for the event extensively, some students felt that the atmosphere in the beginning of the night was a little uncomfortable. Upon entering the event, some Exonians were apprehensive to take a seat at the empty game tables. “It was a little awkward at first, but it eventually seemed fun for everyone,” prep Nina Potter said.
As the event approached its zenith, Exonians piled more red and blue chips into their cups as some placed their last bets on the table. Suddenly, the lights turned off and a few Exonians stole poker chips from the tables of various dealers. When the lights returned, chips were scattered around the auditorium, having been thrown and stolen from their cases. In attempt to restore order, an announcement declared that the booths were going to be shut down if the students did not return the chips to the dealers. Despite the lack of poker chips at some tables for the remainder of the night, the gambling and conversation soon resumed.
In addition to the booths in the auditorium, many students enjoyed taking photos to commemorate the event. While some students opted to take photos themselves, student photographers Arun Wongprommon and Eva Carchidi ran the photo booth while student photographers Helena Chen, Oliver Hess and Paula-Perez Glassner snapped candid photos of the casino-goers. With the photographers’ help, the students were able to take home high-quality pictures of themselves to commemorate the event.
Although Abbot Casino photos are an annual affair, the attire of the students in the photos was different from years past. Formal attire was not required at this year’s event. The message was delivered via an all-school email from the residents of Abbot Hall. When asked about the Abbot uppers’ intention in changing the dress code, upper Billy Menken explained their decision was made to ease economic barriers faced by members of the student body. “We heard questions about whether students could attend if they didn’t own a coat or blazer, and we wanted to make sure the event was inclusive,” he said. “We simply encouraged students to dress their best.”
Abbot Hall upper Zane Ice said that the dorm was focused on inclusion for this year’s event. “We just wanted to make it clear that we didn't want anyone to not come because they didn't own a suit or a fancy dress,” Ice said.
Because of the less formal atmosphere, many thoroughly enjoyed the event. Prep Anna Tran particularly appreciated the Abbot Casino experience. “The craps table was really fun, and the dealers truly made the experience more authentic,” she said. In addition to Abbot Hall residents, some tables had dealers from outside of the PEA community that helped create the authentic atmosphere of a real casino.
Another highlight for many Exonians was magician Oscar Liu, a senior in Peabody Hall. Ice explained that the Abbot uppers were looking to give the event a new facet for students to enjoy. “We wanted to focus on improving the overall experience of the event, as opposed to just the games themselves, so we for the first time officially [invited] a magician as well as student photographers,” Ice said. Instead of going back to their dorms when they ran out of trips, students could sit back and enjoy Liu’s magical performances for the rest of the night.
Overall, Exonians were glad to take advantage of the opportunity to learn a bit about casino games for a night. The magicians, photographers and dealers all contributed to the dynamic atmosphere of the event, and students appreciate their hard work. “I thoroughly enjoyed Abbot Casino, and I’m excited to attend the event next year,” Potter said.