by Nick Escalada
Cal Poly Humboldt’s highest rollers, many of whom were under 21, arrived at the Student Activities Center (SAC) lounge dressed to the nines for an evening of non-monetary gambling. Student employees at the center appeared as the house’s dealers, hosting games of poker, roulette and blackjack across a U-shaped arrangement of tables in the familiar hall bathed in red light.
The event drew swaths of students living in the on-campus dorms to what many saw as a flicker of night life at a university with a usual nine-o-clock bedtime. Amanda Kachevas, programming coordinator of the SAC, was excited to provide residents with the opportunity for after-hours recreation for the fourth year in a row.
“There’s so many people who live on campus and don’t necessarily have things to do in town. Not everyone’s 21 or has a party to go to on the weekend,” Kachevas said. “This event kind of fulfills that party atmosphere. And we used to always get requests to stay open late for events, and we found that this event specifically has like the big draw all the way into the night, almost more so than concerts sometimes.”
As fun as it would be, the SAC does not have a gambling license under the State of California, so its tables were open to all ages and dealt in imaginary cash. Guests were each given a Santi book, named after Operations Coordinator Santiago Menjivar, which granted them a starting total of $10,000 to play with throughout the night.
“It’s really low stakes, and we just teach people how to play so that they can have poker nights at their house and stuff like that,” Kachevas said. “At the end of the night, whoever has the most chips at the end can win a poker set.”
The idea for Casino Night came about when staff looked at events held in the student centers of other universities, and some version of a dapper gambling function seemed to always pop up.
Professional dealers were hired for its first outing, but after slashes to funding and requests from SAC student workers, attendees now receive their hands from decks shuffled by their peers.
“There’s a lot of tiny, nitty gritty things, like getting our student staff together and asking them, ‘Okay, do we want student dealers this time? Do we want to bring in a professional dealing company?’” said Events and Media Lead Riley Hemenober. “But, the students always want to just deal themselves, because it makes it more fun. You can go sit at a table and your friend is the dealer, and I think it makes it fun.”
Guests were encouraged to dress their best to match the lounge’s glitzy atmosphere, and a ‘best couple’ fashion contest was held at the end of the night and decided by the cheers of the surrounding crowd. Clad in black and red blazers and dresses, the congregation of high rollers seemed worlds apart from their casual daytime appearances.
“Students love the opportunity to dress up and dress fancy, because there’s not really events [like this] that happen on campus,” Hemenober said. “Students also love some free giveaways, and so we always try to do that too. We hand out little gifts and [hold] different competitions. So, that way, students have that opportunity to get something on their way out.”
Student workers are eager to bring more opportunities for late night fun to the SAC in the future. The Kate Buchanan Room in the lounge was formerly a venue for frequent musical performances, which included student bands. The room has since become a reservable space for on-campus organizations, but the push for the return of live concerts continues.
Nick is the news editor at The Lumberjack, and studies wildlife and journalism with the goal of spreading his love of nature through media. Chat with him at ne53@humboldt.edu!