On November 14, 1998, Alumni and Undergrads gathered together and packed the house to make the first Casino Night a complete success.
In case you did not already know, the Poker Smoker was declared dead in the Spring '97 newsletter. Due to either lack of interest or schedule conflicts, only one Alumni was able to attend that event. But, after much discussion, the undergrads decided to give the Poker Smoker one more try.... but this time, they did it their way. Since most people in the house don't smoke, they changed it to a non-smoking event (at least inside the house) and renamed it Casino Night. They also had a Barbecue (of sorts - more on this later) and made it a BYOB event for various reasons. Then they put it on the schedule for November 14th at 8:00 PM.
The event started with a little bit of worry in the air due to weather concerns (it was snowing on and off throughout the night and I had an inch of snow on the ground as I left for the house). These concerns did not last long though as Alumni began to trickle in. Games included Let It Ride, Black Jack, Roulette, and Spades.
I started off the night at the Let It Ride table hosted by James 'The Shark' Testa. They should have called it You Can't Win.... I spent 30 minutes at this table and lost 3/4 my money. I wanted to get out earlier, but the other tables were all filled up and The Shark kept saying "You have to win eventually.... keep trying.... don't give up... etc.".
After finally getting away from the table, I was wondering what happened to the BBQ. After inquiring and pestering the heck out of everyone who would listen, Steve "Chef" Galgano began to cook. Chef is a very creative cook (I must say). We had no grill and it was snowing out. So how do you cook hamburgers and hotdogs for 30 people.... wrap the broiler with tin foil and drop them in. I must say, this method was quick but not quite as tasty as a real BBQ (can you say cardboard boys and girls?). After few beers and lots of ketchup, it really didn't matter. People were flagging down John "Cabana Boy" Snyder left and right.
Still waiting for a spot to clear up, I decided to head outside for a smoke. Even though the cigar aspect of the event was supposed to be nixxed, I, and a few other people, felt obligated to bring some stogies. The stogies were good, as was the conversation, but it was f***'n cold. So back I went.
Black Jack was still full. Joe "Stingy" Mastromonico (or something like that) did a good job of keeping people there. I decided to try my luck at Roulette with Brian "Magnet" Jones at the wheel. I took 3 of my last 5 dollars out and gave it a go for a few spins. ppppttthhh. Oh well, Roulette is not my game.
Finally, a spot opened up at Black Jack. I pull out my last 2 bucks and set out to win back my money. Joe was still dealing. I dropped down to my last 5 cents and ready to leave when Glenn "Can't Loose" Trimboli gave me a dollar to stay. Then it happened.... Jeff "Give it Away" Brill took over the table. I don't know why, but Jeff could not win. Everyone at the table was winning. I felt so good after winning back 1/2 my money, I wanted to leave, but "Can't Loose" convinced me to stay. I ended up winning back all my money by the time I had to leave. I made a little donation to the house and encouraged others to do the same. According to Bill "The Bank" Stimmel, the event ended up costing the house $15. Not bad for such a successful event.