On Feb. 3, the Oakland Center (OC) turned into Hollywood’s Casino Night. Alongside Tom Holland and Margot Robbie, students in semi-formal attire enjoyed many casino classics and excitingly new games at one of Oakland University’s most emblematic events.
Harry Styles was the first of many Hollywood stars to welcome attendees on the red carpet. Students were greeted with a deck of cards, a Casino Night glass, a drawstring bag and casino chips.
What used to be the main floor of the OC transformed into Sunset Blvd. and Hollywood Blvd., with two crowded photo stands as an epicenter to kick the event off. Gold Room A dimmed its lights to become a neon mini golf course while the banquet rooms housed sixty prizes and almost three times the players for speed bingo games.
The main attraction was the approximately 20 casino game tables at the Ballrooms. Dimmed lights and WXOU playlists accompanied blackjack players, poker competitors, roulette enthusiasts and the University Housing Resident Assistants (RA’s) dealing the cards.
Student Program Board (SPB) President Matthew Murray explained that aside from new attractions, the decoration and atmosphere were a crucial aspect of the night.
“This year we definitely put a lot more emphasis on the decorations,” Murray said. “We haven’t really decorated this well before and also, we had a bingo hall this year.”
Hollywood Walk of Fame stars adorned the way to the game rooms. A caricature stand, oxygen bar and mocktail stand were among the attractions livening up the boulevards where Marilyn Monroe and Chris Hemsworth greeted attendees.
Sophomore Jillian Jones celebrated the emphasis on detailed decorations and the diversity of games.
“I like the decorations this year, they’re really good,” Jones said. “The minigolf, the flipbook — I don’t remember there being bingo last year.”
The prizes were as diverse as the games, ranging from an air fryer and mini-fridge to Taylor Swift’s vinyl pack and Lions’ Jerseys. A 50-inch TV and PlayStation 5 were among the most coveted prizes.
Murray said the changes in different attractions, prizes and games this year in comparison to prior years were due to coordination challenges.
“The hardest aspect is probably all the preparation ahead of time,” Murray said. “It’s really hard to get everything going but once you get it going, the ball starts rolling.”
Murray also pointed out that the ratio of campus residents to commuter attendees at SPB events is skewed towards residents. Casino Night is the exception.
“A lot of SPB events aren’t well attended by commuter students,” Murray said, “That’s something we always try to do better with, but this has always been more of a commuter event.”
The event has grown so popular among commuters that large quantities of Michigan State University (MSU) students also drive to Casino Nights.
“We did have bingo at the beginning of the year, but nothing too crazy like this,” MSU freshman Rida Akhtar said.
“[MSU] is too big to have events like this. There’s, like, smaller events, but they’re not central like this,” MSU junior Carina Abbasov said.
Now a tradition at OU after almost 12 years, Casino Night was considered a fun success both for organizers and attendees, bringing an ever-growing community together.
“That’s always important — to see everyone come together, that’s huge,” Murray said. “Thank you to WXOU, SPB, university housing and the RAs.”
