The Journal

Issue date: 11/16/06 Section: LifeStyle

Media Credit: Ashley Gieseking Freshman Nadia G. Battle bites on a candy cigarette while she plays a card game during Campus Activities' "A Night in Vegas" Nov. 9 in the University Center. The annual event included everything from roulette tables and a wedding arch to 'mocktails,' non-alcoholic cocktails. Faculty and staff participated in the event by acting as dealers.

Media Credit: Ashley Gieseking Freshman Ricardo Falla folds a poker hand. Each gambler began the night with $500 in chips. Their winnings - or losses - could be exchanged for prizes at the end of the night, which included things as mundane as laundry material to as high-tech as an iPod.

Dim lighting fell onto cards on a green felt table. Players hovered over their cards while cigarettes carelessly dangled on the edge of their lips. They were glaring at the competition to see who was bluffing and who had the hand to beat. Meanwhile, ragtime music and old Fats Waller tunes played in the background as champagne glasses clinked and provided an almost percussive backdrop.

Well - almost. The cigarettes were of the candy variety, the champagne was sparkling grape juice and the money at stake wasn't real. It was Webster's annual A Nite in Vegas held in the Sunnen Lounge and University Center Commons.

The Nov. 9 event, sponsored by Campus Activities and coordinated by sophomore Seville Fletcher, a public relations major, attracted prospective gamblers from the campus to try their hand at blackjack, poker and roulette. This year's theme, the 1920s, brought some students out in red slinky dresses, fedoras, feather boas and even a few zoot suits.

Despite the fact that the chips weren't real, students still writhed and winced after losing a hand and threw their hands in the air when they won.

Faculty from various departments got behind the tables to deal out hands for the evening.

"It's a fun thing to do," said Patrick Stack, director of counseling. "I've been involved with this since it got started. I have a freshmen orientation class where I've been pushing this. I challenged my students to come out and play me."

Weaving in and out of the crowd, waitresses in red and black frilly dresses offered students candy cigarettes and glasses of sparkling grape juice.

"(A Nite in Vegas) is something different," said Jason Woolem, a junior video production major. "It's a good way to meet people and hang out and play some cards."

Terrell Sanders, a junior sociology major, said he was out to win some chips.

"I like to take chances and I want to win the big bucks," Sanders said jokingly. "It's fun though. It gives people something to do on campus."

As each student entered, he or she was directed to get chips. Each student received $500 in chips that could be redeemed for tickets at the end of the night. Prizes included an iPod, DVD sets, a Razor scooter and practical items like a laundry basket and detergent.

At the one end of the UC, a small, gazebo-like structure was host to numerous couples posing for fake wedding photos.

In the Sunnen Lounge, five tables were used for poker while Ron Bryant, an adjunct faculty and graduate student at Webster, tickled the ivories.

"They told me they were going for the 1920s feel," Bryant said. "I played some ragtime, some Fats Waller, but I also played some other stuff like 'Linus and Lucy.'"

Humberto Herrera was visiting his girlfriend at Webster and the couple just happened to get drawn in by the signs outside.

"It sounded interesting," Herrera said. "Get married, spend money - what happens in Webster stays at Webster. It sounded fun. I don't play poker very well, but it's fun."

Katie McComb, Campus Activities graduate assistant, said the night was a success.

"I was very pleased," McComb said. "I think we counted about 200 people and everyone seemed to have a good time."

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