Casino Party Tips

Your Casino Party will require different levels of approval. You’ve got your overview and ultimate event purpose established with a pretty good idea of where you’ll have your event. Do you have the final say on those matters – or do you need the approval of a higher authority?

Then there is the food, beverage, venue ammenities, staff, etc. So many decisions to be made. Make it easy on yourself and form a committee and give one major area of responsibility to each person to oversee and then all people report back to you and then ultimately on to the person you report to – if there is one.

Let’s assume there is an ultimate Decision Maker. Generally, it’s the person who signs the checks – or authorizes accounting to disburse the funds to pay for this event. That decision maker may want input, they may not. They may want to know all of the details or they may just want the overview.

Do you fully understand what that decision maker’s idea of a great event is? That is the first place for you to start.

After you form your committee and have your brainstorming session, create an outline of the type of event you’re proposing.

Take that outline to the ultimate decision maker with a cost projection and get approval of your plan before you spend a lot of time implementing it.

There is nothing more defeating that spending hours planning an event and then find out it is not what the person who is paying the bill had in mind. Granted, they could have given you a better idea of what they wanted, but maybe they didn’t know. Maybe they subscribe to the previous mentioned school of thought – throw the idea out and see what comes back – from a variety of people.

One thing is certain, you won’t get very far without their approval, so get it as close to the beginning of your process, determine how “hands on” they want to be and how much autonomy you have with the event.

Insist on whatever time you need to plan your Casino Party well and make these determinations early in the process. It will just save everyone more time later on.

Decision Makers – Part I

Every event has to have decision makers. Those are the people who have the final say on what happens. Unfortnately more decision makers have a myriad of other duties to attend to so they delegate the information gathering task to a co-worker without giving them the authority to finalize the decisions.

Obviously it’s a much easier road for you if you’re the only decision maker. But, is that really such a good idea?

You are creating an event that is going to draw a variety of people. You may have a lot of experience planning events and have a good feel for what works and what doesn’t. Or, you may be totally new to this party planning business and welcome whatever help you can get.

You’re going to have a wide variety of guests to please. A wide variety of opinions, input to a brainstorming session, can be a very successful way to begin your party planning procedure. Open your mind to all the possibilities for your event. Creativity and ingenuity is what makes events different. Encourage that creativity from the people you’re working with and acknowledge them for it. They will be much more likely to work with you next time if they feel they got credit when it was due.

A Casino Party, added to any event you’re planning, is a sure winner. You have to time your casino for the best time for your guests to play. You need to devise “House Rules” that are fun and exciting. You need to make sure that the dealers know “how to play the games.” All of the ways you do these things are outlined in The Magic Touch. The Magic Touch is part of “A Winning Combination: Casino Gaming for Fun and/or Profit.” That Report is offered st http://LowdownReports.com and click onto the eShop page.

Next Post – More about the decision makers.

A successful fund-raising event is comprised of many things. The first one is the price of admission. If you price it too high you cut out some of your potential benefactors. If however, you have a loyal following who will pay a high ticket price you may have a group that will allow you to skip a lot of work.

For the most part, however, a successful fund-raising event happens when you create a fun event, keep the ticket price moderate to attract as many guests as possible and then give them other ways to spend their money for your group’s benefit once they get to the event.

The most successful will probably always be the auction – either silent, oral or a combination of the two. You want to limit following enhancements that require out of pocket monies from your guests to four or five at the most

1. Is there a goal amount in mind.

2. Do we add a silent auction, an oral auction – or both.

3. Add a Raffle.

4. Fund-the-Cause or Call to Action – a live plea for support from the group.

5. Dessert Auction

6. Specialty Products Auction

7. Specialty Services Auction

8. Sponsorship to offset the cost of the entertainment.

9. Underwriting sponsorship to offset the cost of fixed expenses.

10. Extra activities guests can participate in that will win one prize at the end of the evening. How many jelly beans in the jar. Buy a chance on a wrapped package. $5 Balloons with slips of paper inside telling what the prize is. A real diamond in a drink glass while other glasses have cubic zirconiums.

The list could go on and on but you get the idea. Have two or three or four ways to do some extra fund-raisig and for your guests to spend some extra money while they’re there.

Adding a casino party to a celebration you’re planning to celebrate your business is a very important first step.  Why a celebration for your customers, your employees, your vendors, your potential customers.  The reasons for a business to host a celebration are many.

Perhaps you found yourself in the same predicament many other businesses found themselves in during the last few years.  You had to pare your work staff and let some people go and put more hours and responsibility onto the people who stayed.

Maybe you had to cut back in some services to your customers and now you’re in a position to restore them.

Maybe you’ve had to put off seeking new business because you were having to make do with a smaller staff and handling your existing business was the best you could do.

Whatever the reasons – with the economy coming out of it’s slump your business may begin to enjoy the same recovery that many other businesses are experiencing.

When things get back closer to normal, don’t forget to thank the people who helped you hold it all together.  Plan an event that will celebrate your success and create a fun and exciting experience for the people who will continue to make your business a success.

One of the great things about adding casino entertainment to your planned event is that it gives your guests an activity to enjoy while they’re joined together in the celebration.

The way you structure that celebration say a lot about how much you value your guests. Add a casino party to your event and create a fun evening for all involved.

Think about add-ons for your Casino Party Fund-Raiser.  The two simplest once to do are a raffle or an auction.  Again, you want to check the gambling laws in your area.  In the State of Washington, a qualified group can raise up to $5,000 by doing a raffle without having to get a separate license.  The tickets are distributed and sold for several months before the event and the drawing takes place after the casino closes.

Adding a Silent Auction to your event is the money maker.  It’s a lot of work but if you have a base of support to procure auction items, it’s as close to a guaranteed profit as you can come.  The Report:  “ A Winning Combination:  Casino Gaming for Fun and/or Profit” gives you all the basic information you need to do a successful Silent Auction.

Request the Party Planner on the sidebar for more FREE Information on staging casino parties for your favorite groups.

The success of a Silent Auction with a casino as the entertainment is in your numbers.  It doesn’t work with 50 to 75 guests because you don’t have enough bidding and buying guests.  However, if you feel your group can generate the 150 to 200 in ticket sales and procure around 100 items (or more) you could be looking at the multiple thousands in profits.  Higher-end items in the auction equals higher profits.

Remember, the trick is having numbers of guests and giving them something they’re willing to spend their time and money on.

For Washington state residents:  (Other areas remember to check with your state or province law enforcement to see what rules you have to follow).

The Play for Cash Alternative

Recently, The Washington State Gambling Commission re-worked the old Reno-Nite format that clubs used quite successfully in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

In Washington State a group can now contact a group like ours to assist you in doing a cash Las Vegas Night activity.  You can rent the equipment from us and you have two options.  You can do the entire thing with wagers up to $10 and you provide all of the personnel to run the event. 

Your second choice is to do the event using scrip and sell extra scrip for when people run out.  Your people have to run the bank and handle all of the money, but our staff can deal the games and deliver a quality event.

The license is higher – in the $400 range when you do a cash event.  When you do a Fantasy Casino with us, you umbrella under our license (one less headache for you). 

There is no limit to what you can raise at an event utilizing the “High Roller’s Casino format as entertainment.  However, there is a $10,000 ceiling – less expenses – to what you can raise at an casino event attaching a cash value to the chips or selling the scrip for cash.  Plus you have to stand the losses at a cash event.

The real downside to doing an event for cash is this:  People who are willing to put real cash into a casino game have plenty of places to go these days for the experience.  It would be a rare group that would attract enough people willing to put large sums into the gaming activity to create a high profit.

However, there will always be the wonderful people who support worthwhile groups with their checkbooks.  And they love to bid and go home with an item they can use and feeling good about the donation to your group.  They leave the casino fund-raising party excited, full of fun, and willing to consider coming again.

The financial success of your casino party will be based on numbers.  The number of people you’re able to attract to your casino party, the number of tickets you will be able to sell, the number of items you’re able to procure for an auction process (if you choose to have one).  Most of all, the success of your casino party will depend on the number of people who are attracted to the event, entertained and committed to making your evening a financial success.

Deciding on the type of entertainment to use, if any, at your fund-raising event should be a calculated decision.  You have to be sure to choose something that most of the people will enjoy and that will be entertaining for all of your guests.  We have been recommending (and presenting) “High Roller” Casino Parties to our clients for almost 20 years.  Many clients are annual events.  No other entertainment delivers the same level of excitement and individual involvement as your guests experience through a “High Roller’s” Casino Party.

Our years of experiences can guide you through the pitfalls to avoid an unsuccessful event.  Our aim is to provide your group with the level of service needed to ensure a successful event.  The best place for that to start is at your committee/planning meeting. 

Download our Party Planner offered on the side bar.  Go over the information that could pertain to your planned event.  Devise a “Game Plan” for a successful event.  If your “Game Plan” involves casino entertainment order “A Winning Combination:  Casino Gaming for Fun and/or Profit.”  That Report is available  at http://www.LowdownReports.com/eShop.

If you’re going to expend the effort to do an event, make it the best it can be and raise as much money as you can – create an event that your guests will talk about and look forward to again.

Whether or not to do a Casino Party at your fund-raising event is not a simple question.  The first thing you have to determine is if it’s legal in your area.  In Washington and Oregon, the answer is yes.  Any place else check with your local Attorney General’s office for any restrictions.

You may have the choice of hosting a gambling night for real money or using a fantasy concept and playing for scrip.  We’re going to deal with the fantasy concept simply because we feel strongly that the days of being able to raise substantial amounts of money playing for cash in a mock-casino environment are in a category with rotary telephones and wind up clocks. 

They still work, but they’re not the most efficient way to get the job done.

Our formula for hosting a Casino Party for your group is based on outrageous.  People play casino games with outrageous sums of money, have the flexibility of paying with outrageous rules and everyone has an outrageously good time.

The Casino Party Format: 

You sell tickets to an event.  As part of their ticket price the guests receive a bank of Fantasy Dollars to play casino games.  At the end of the evening they redeem their winnings for prize tickets and prizes – provided by the host group – are raffled.

There are several steps we suggest you go through before deciding to utilize a  Casino format in relationship to a fund-raising event.

1.  Have a goal of how much money you want to raise.

2. How many tickets do you think it’s reasonable to expect to sell to this event?

3. What types of events have you done in the past that your group has responded to.

Example – A general social event, perhaps with a Polynesian or Western theme, to get the guests into a fun frame of mind and one that you feel you can sell 175 tickets at $25 each.  If you reach your ticket goal, you’ve generated $4375.  The casino entertainment will cost you $1800 to $2200 depending on certain factors.
What will food cost?
Will you make a profit on the bar?
Will you be able to use your own facility or will you have a facility charge?

Using your own facility and having a committee prepare the food keeps your profits much higher.  Fraternal groups generally have that option.

More in the next post.

If the event you’re planning is social or corporate – you’ve got a winner.  Hands down, casino entertainment provides the best one on one entertainment you can provide for your guests.

However if your event is a fund-raiser you need to take a long, hard look at your expectations to make sure you have a reasonable chance of reaching your fund-raising goals.

How many guests can you sell tickets to?

How many of those people will actually come to the event?

Are there other revenue sources you can count on or will the entertainment be the party?

Then take the number of guests (let’s say 200) and multiply it by the ticket price you feel your guests would be comfortable with (let’s say $40) and you have an $8,000 figure.

Then take a look at your fixed costs.  Will you have to pay for a venue?  Will you have to pay for food and beverages?  What other expenses will you encounter?  Deduct that amount from your $8,000.  Is that going to be enough profit for the event.

If not, you need to review some of the other ways of raising money at a casino event to reach your fund-raising goal.

Party On!

 Casino Parties use scrip and chips for the players.  The actual scrip and chips have no direct cash value.  For our casino parties a beginning bank goes to each individual along with their admission to the event.  We run a very loose game so players generally do not need additional funds. 

In Washington State a group can now contact a group like ours to assist you in doing a cash Las Vegas Night activity.  You can rent the equipment from us and you have two options.  You can do the entire thing with wagers up to $10 and you provide all of the personnel to run the event.  Your second choice is to do the event using scrip and sell extra scrip for when people run out.  Your people have to run the bank and handle all of the money, but our staff can deal the games and deliver a quality event.

When you do a Fantasy Casino with us, you umbrella under our license (one less headache for you).  There is no limit to what you can raise at an event utilizing the “High Roller’s Casino format as entertainment.  However, there is a $10,000 ceiling – less expenses – to what you can raise at an casino event attaching a cash value to the chips or selling the scrip for cash.  Plus you have to stand the losses at a cash event.

The real downside to doing an event for cash is this:  People who are willing to put real cash into a casino game have plenty of places to go these days for the experience.  It would be a rare group that would attract enough people willing to put large sums into the gaming activity to create a high profit.

However, there will always be the wonderful people who support worthwhile groups with their checkbooks.  And they love to bid and go home with an item they can use and feeling good about the donation to your group.  They leave your Casino Party excited, full of fun, and willing to consider coming again.

The best event you can create would use the casino as entertainment for your group and play for scrip and chips – awarding prizes at the end of the evening to reward the gaming entertainment.  Create other ways to generate funds for your group – there are plenty of them.  Just decide what your group will respond to and you’ll be pleased with the results.

Now, think about add-ons for your Casino Party.  The two simplest ones to do are a raffle or an auction.  Again, you want to check the gambling laws in your area.  In the State of Washington, a qualified group can raise up to $5,000 by doing a raffle without having to get a separate license.  The tickets are distributed and sold for several months before the event and the drawing takes place after the casino closes.

Adding a Silent Auction to your event is the money maker.  It’s a lot of work but if you have a base of support to procure auction items, it’s as close to a guaranteed profit as you can come.  The Report:  “ A Winning Combination:  Casino Gaming for Fun and/or Profit” gives you all the basic information you need to do a successful Silent Auction.

The success of a Silent Auction with a casino as the entertainment is in your numbers.  It doesn’t work with 50 to 75 guests because you don’t have enough bidding and buying guests.  However, if you feel your group can generate the 150 to 200 in ticket sales and procure around 100 items (or more) you could be looking at the multiple thousands in profits.  Higher-end items in the auction equals higher profits.

Remember, the trick is having numbers of guests and giving them something they’re willing to spend their time and money on.

For Washington state residents:  (Other areas remember to check with your state or province law enforcement to see what rules you have to follow).

Whether or not to create a Casino Party at your fund-raising event is not a simple decision.  The first thing you have to determine is if it’s legal in your area.  In Washington and Oregon, the answer is yes.  Any place else check with your local Attorney General’s office for any restrictions.

You may have the choice of hosting a gambling night for real money or using a fantasy concept and playing for scrip.  We’re going to deal with the fantasy concept simply because we feel strongly that the days of being able to raise substantial amounts of money playing for cash in a mock-casino environment are in a category with rotary telephones and wind up clocks.  They still work, but they’re not the most efficient way to get the job done.

Our formula for hosting a Casino Party for your group is based on outrageous.  People play casino games with outrageous sums of money, have the flexibility of playing with outrageous rules and everyone has an outrageously good time.

Our “High Roller” Format 

You sell tickets to an event.  As part of their ticket price the guests receive a bank of Fantasy Dollars to play casino games.  At the end of the evening they redeem their winnings for prize tickets and prizes – provided by the host group – are raffled.

There are several steps we suggest you go through before deciding to utilize a “High Roller’s” Casino format in relationship to a fund-raising event.

1.  Have a goal of how much money you want to raise.

2. How many tickets do you think it’s reasonable to expect to sell to this event?

3. What types of events have you done in the past that your group has responded to.

Example – A general social event, perhaps with a Polynesian or Western theme, to get the guests into a fun frame of mind and one that you feel you can sell 175 tickets at $25 each.  If you reach your ticket goal, you’ve generated $4375.  The casino entertainment will cost you $1800 to $3200 depending on certain factors.
a. What will food cost?
b. Will you make a profit on the bar?
c. Will you be able to use your own facility or will you have a facility charge?

Using your own facility and having a committee prepare the food keeps your profits much higher.  Fraternal groups generally have that option.