High Rollers

This weekend Bret was off and we wanted to do something fun and decided to have a casino party. It was a blast. A few weeks ago we were shopping around for a gaming table. Not a free standing one but one that sat on a table. After looking EVERYWHERE we found one at K-mart. It was originally $60 marked down to $25. When we took it to the register we got it for $12. YEAH!

So here is how we set up the party. Babysitter...check, chips and cards...check, snacks...check, booze/water/beer...check....awesome casino party...check!

We had roulette, black jack, and BINGO. When people arrived they got $10,000 in chips. The minimum bet on everything was $100. We had separate roulette chips that you cashed in for quarters to bet on the inside. BINGO was $100 a card. At the end of the night you could use your chips to buy raffle tickets for $1000 each. If you ran out of money over the course of the evening you could deal Black Jack or call BINGO for $1000 a game up to $10,000. It was BYOB and we provided the snacks. For prizes Bret and I found a bunch of little gift cards that we had gotten for Christmas, giveaways, etc. for $5 to $10, a couple bottles of wine, a couple cigars, a movie that we had two of, the set of chips that came with the board that we didn't need, and a stuffed Easter bunny.

I think everyone had a really good time. We ended up having 12 people and most of them had NEVER been to a casino or even played anything but BINGO before. I had to tell you that it was a little over whelming at first trying to teach everyone how to play and bet. Black Jack was pretty easy but roulette is funny. The payouts are easy to remember but when you have 4-5 people playing at once and dropping a ton of money it can be a lot of work to payout. We were exhausted at the end of the evening but had a lot of fun.

Several people asked about poker and craps. The board we bought has a craps table inside of it. The problem once again is teaching people how to bet and paying them out. Bret and I know how to play craps and we have a decent understanding how to pay it out too. However, it's a game that we would need one night where that it all we played. It is too much to have several games to teach/play and have to teach people 3 or 4 different times cause not everyone plays at the same time. Poker is easy so we will have to do one of those nights too.

Several people have asked when we are going to do it again and we are probably going to soon. We told everyone that next time the buy in for the night is going to be a $5 to $10 door prize to raffle off at the end of the night.

Before you start to think that Bret and I are some high rollers let me explain. My parents live about 10 minutes from the Indian reservations in Kansas. They had casinos there but nothing like Las Vegas or even the river boats in Kansas City. During the week sometimes it would be really SLOW so they would have reduced minimum bet nights. Sometimes it would be quarter roulette or quarter craps night. Other nights it would $3 black jack, Let It Ride, or Caribbean Stud. They had Black Jack tournaments for $20 buy in. My parents were casino regulars and would always have bonus points saved up for free buffets or free nights at the casino. Bret and I would drive down sometimes and head to the casinos with my parents. Most of the time they would even give us $20 to spend. So with the casinos empty Bret and I learned out to play the tables with a reduced amount of money. The dealers weren't busy so they taught us how to play, how to bet, and what the pay outs were. On the slow nights there would be some high rollers that were regulars and they liked Bret and I and kind of taught us how they learned how to play. It was fun. Surprised? Most people are. They would never guess that this momma from KS could probably deal and pay out any game in a casino. Maybe it will be my next career (dealers make good money AND get good tips).