The young freshman stares down at the two cards in his right hand. He looks back up at the dealer, confidently remarking “All in!” The dealer looks over to the other player at the table, who matches his bet. Both students reveal their hand. The first throws down a pair of aces, easily taking the pot. His dad gives him a huge congratulatory high five, as the boy picks up his chips and heads to the table of rewards.
This was the scene on September 17, 2015 in the Terry Center, as fathers and sons came together for a great evening of fun and bonding. This year was a huge success for fathers and sons alike, first timer, Michael Musso ’19 told the Roundup“I enjoyed my first casino night at Jesuit, and I had a fun time hanging out with my dad as well as my new classmates.” Every year is a huge success for Father-Son Casino Night, and this year is no exception, surpassing expectations as always.
Even more enjoyable are some of the prizes, event coordinator Mrs. Pat Sayers, commented that “some of the most popular prizes included a Yeti Cooler, an iPhone 6s, and Mavericks tickets.” Some students in attendance also echoed Mrs. Sayers’s enthusiasm over the prizes including Will Naquin ’17 who said “It was a blast, the prizes were so cool and I even came close to winning some.” One of the raffle winners, Nick Motter ’18 pointed out “The night was awesome, it was so cool to be able to win one of the raffles and pick a prize!”
Like previous years, the event sold out extremely quickly, within a day of the tickets going on sale. Attendees of the event like Bobby Wunderlick ’17 said “there were so many people there it’s hard to even estimate a number.” The large amount of people in attendance is great especially considering how amazing the night went, Will Curran ’17 mentioned, “The night was awesome. The Hold ‘Em was fun, and the raffles were exciting too. I got fifth place in the Hold ‘Em tournament, making it to the last table.”
Father Son Casino Night kicks off the yearly drive to raise money for need based scholarships for Jesuit Students. The annual drive begins with Father Son Casino night in the fall, followed by Ladies Bingo and the Car Raffle in the winter. The year culminates with the Auction Gala in the spring. All four of these events are extremely important to creating funding for grants so students who may have trouble to attend Jesuit due to financial reasons, can have the means necessary to attend. Father Son Casino Night spreads the gift of a Jesuit education to all, allowing every child to have the opportunity to come here.
Remember, tickets for events like these always sell out extremely quickly, so make sure to purchase yours early so you can attend in future years!
photography by Jowdy Photography