Tips for Hosting a Casino Night for Your Friends
Casino nights are a super fun way of hanging out with your pals while doing something totally different to what you’d normally get up to together.
Of course if you’ve never hosted this type of event before, there are a lot of things to think about and quite a few choices to make.
To help your casino night go off without a hitch, here are some top tips to follow and some common mistakes to avoid.
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Get the right gear
In order for a casino night to work well, you need the equipment and accessories which make it possible to play gambling games in the first place.
A simple pack of cards is enough for table games like poker and blackjack, although you’ll need to buy some casino chips so that players have something to wager with. These can be picked up affordably online, and they can be used again and again, so think of them as an investment.
Of course you probably won’t want to splash out on a full-blown roulette wheel or a slot machine, or even have the room for one if you did. The answer is to combine card-based table games with digital versions of other casino games.
Having slots and roulette available to play on a modern tablet or two can really add to the authenticity, without costing the earth.
And as there are lots of casino sites which offer demo versions of these games that are playable free of charge, this is an even more affordable secondary form of entertainment for your casino night.
Set the mood
Recreating the atmosphere of a casino at home might sound like a challenge, but there are a few easy ways to achieve this.
First, create a playlist of memorable songs about gambling and use this to create a suitably evocative background for your gambling activities.
Next, encourage guests to dress up for the occasion, and avoid the temptation to just turn up in a t-shirt and jeans. If you can get your friends to dust off their best evening wear, you’ll feel more like you’re all in a high end casino from a James Bond movie, rather than just in your living room.
Lastly, don’t skimp on the decorations. Adding a bit of glitz and glamour to your domestic spaces with LED lights, tinsel and perhaps even Vegas-themed signage will make a world of difference.
Stock the drinks cabinet
No casino night is complete without a suitable array of drinks to keep the conversation flowing and the wagers coming thick and fast.
As well as supplying your own spirits and mixers, ask guests to bring their own as well, and perhaps task everyone with choosing their favorite cocktail recipe to make.
You could even factor in cocktail-making as part of the experience, and this will be great for people who are in-between games, or not as interested in gambling as others.
Whether you make alcoholic or virgin cocktails, the one thing you’ll need plenty of is ice, so pack the freezer with as much as possible in preparation for the party.
Don’t skimp on snacks
Another important addition to any casino night is the right number of nibbles so that players don’t get hangry when the cards don’t fall in their favor.
Having bowls of chips and dip placed at strategic points around the room works well in any social scenario. You could even opt for classier canapés, if you are aiming for the full-on Casino Royale vibe.
Whichever snacks you select, just make sure there are plenty of them, as your guests will need something to soak up the boozy cocktails you are plying them with.
Consider hiring a pro to help out
This isn’t an option for a more casual casino night, but if the occasion is special and you don’t mind the expense, then it could be worth it to hire a professional croupier to handle the table games during the event.
Having someone on hand to deal hands, take care of the wagers and generally act as a master of ceremonies is sensible if most of you are newcomers to the world of casino gaming.
You might not need a croupier in future once you have got to grips with the rules, but being able to get guidance at your fledgling gambling party will solve a lot of conundrums.
Lastly, you can always ask guests to chip in to help cover the costs of putting on a casino night, and perhaps make the jackpots available to a charity so that any bad feelings towards big winners are wiped away.
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