Late Night Las Vegas takes over Elmen Center
The Elmen Center didn’t appear as its usual self Saturday night.
Students entered the building dressed as royalty, prepared to gamble fake money. The first 50 students to enter the late night received inflatable swords.
With a 12 person team, junior Peter Kahnke and sophomore Kendall Backora set up games of blackjack, poker, roulette, UNO, slots and more. Craft tables offered students the chance to build their own crowns.
With about 225 students in attendance, Kahnke said Late Night Las Vegas was a success.
Held on Feb. 17, Late Night Las Vegas marked Recreational Service’s second late night of the academic year.
Backora and Kahnke were the team leaders in setting up the event for students. They split the role of purchasing decorations, gathering dealers, organizing food and mocktails and ensuring students had an entertaining night.
With funding from the Augustana Student Association and the Elmen Center’s Learn-to-Swim program, the team was able to purchase decorations from Walmart and Amazon.
Late Night Las Vegas is an annual event for the Elmen Center.
“Best part of the draw, I think, is the fact that [Late Night Las Vegas] has been going for a little bit,” Kahnke said. “People know about it. People like casino games for the most part, and even if you don’t like casino games, you can just come and have fun with zero actual money stakes. You can only do well with having fun [and] getting some good food and mocktails.”
(Left) Sophomore Connor Bates holds an air fryer, the second place prize. (Center) Students sit around a blackjack table while freshman Luke Morse deals. (Right) Freshmen Fina Vander Poel, Amber House and Kelsey McCuddin stand near the slots game. Photos by Alayna Jones.
Senior Quincee Schloegel participated in various games with her friends and said blackjack was her favorite to play.
“My favorite part of tonight has been seeing all the people get dressed up and try different games,” Schloegel said. “I’m not really good at casinos, so it has been really cool to see how things work and see the tragedy of gambling.”
Freshman blackjack dealer Luke Morse had played blackjack before the event and said he was excited to play as a dealer.
“It has been fun interacting with the guests and getting them hyped up about the game,” Morse said. “My favorite moment is when a student bet everything she had and doubled it.”
Students were able to enjoy chips and salsa, cinnamon sugar donuts and popcorn through Sodexo. For drinks, Recreational Services displayed three non-alcoholic cocktails: Shirley Temples, frozen margaritas and strawberry daiquiris.
Alongside the food and games, the stakes of winning were three grand prizes for whoever had the most fake money. First place received a 42-inch smart TV, second place earned an air fryer and third place took home a hot chocolate set.
Freshman Sebastian Garcia Escorcia claimed third place, and sophomore Connor Bates claimed second place.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so excited to go cook with this [airfryer],” Bates said. “Blackjack was my favorite event of the night. It's so much fun.”
Freshman Mattie Weidenbach came in first place with $655,990.
“I was with all of my friends at the tables, and it was just funny because we were all just trying to get as much money as we could,” Weidenbach said. “The last 10 minutes, I put all of my money in just to see how much I would get.”
Recreational Service’s next late night will be mini golf on March 2 at the Elmen Center.
“I’ve certainly been blown away just by the energy of the staff and students,” Kahnke said. “I think people showed up with great enthusiasm, great attitudes all around. People are having fun, and I’m at a pleasant disposition having to be here.”
