‘When the dealin’s done’

Casino Night a huge success, raising $10,000 for local youth

Sheila McGuire, Herald Reporter
Posted 11/10/17

Evanston Youth Club for Boys and Girls holds Casino Night

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‘When the dealin’s done’

Casino Night a huge success, raising $10,000 for local youth

Posted

EVANSTON — Evanston’s Roundhouse became a bustling casino on Friday, Nov. 3, as the Evanston Youth Club hosted its third annual Casino Night fund-raiser. Youth Club CEO Holly Slade said the event was a huge success. 

More than 200 tickets to the event were sold, said Slade, which was a significant increase from the 2016 event. Attendees were treated to a pasta bar dinner prepared by the center’s Catering Club students. 

Event-goers also received $200 worth of casino chips and one drink with their tickets, and had the option of purchasing tickets for more chips if they desired. Chips were traded in for raffle tickets at the close of the night, and raffle prizes included theater tickets, meals at local restaurants, a stay in Mesquite, a computer package, and a television, among other items. 

Members of the Youth Club board of directors and other community members spent the evening working as dealers for blackjack and Texas Hold ‘Em, while ticket holders could also try their luck at craps and roulette. 

Slade said the event raised $10,000 for the Youth Club, which supports center programs and also helps with staffing and building costs. 

The Club used a group called Casino Party USA to put on the event, but Slade said in the future they are looking to host their own casino night to cut down on overhead costs and enable them to have more control over the environment and atmosphere. 

The Youth Club has served more than 500 community kids over the last three years, and currently averages between 80 and 90 kids each day, said Slade. It is the only provider of daily services for middle-school-aged students during the after-school hours, which Slade said are the critical hours when unsupervised youth are more likely to get into trouble. 

The Youth Club programs focus on three pillars — academic success, healthy lifestyles, and good character. Students attending in the afternoons are able not only to get help with schoolwork, but also work on things such as art, sewing, cooking, and life skills like how to change a flat tire. 

Slade said the Club also has an “incredible boxing program” and other sports activities.  

The Club is an investment in the community overall, said Slade. “Our community is only as successful as our youth are.” 

The Youth Club will be moving within the next several months, from its current location near the Evanston Child Development Center to its new home on Sixth Street near the tennis courts. Evanston residents may have noticed the new structure going up over the last several weeks. 

Slade said she wants the community to know that the new building will have a larger capacity than the current facility, which the Club shares with ECDC. There will be classrooms to work on academics and college and career readiness, as well as a full basketball court and locker rooms. One exciting feature, said Slade, is that there will be more bathrooms available; they currently have only one. 

Slade said that the plan is to work on the building in phases as the Youth Club is able to secure more funding. The priority is to get the facility move-in ready and able to serve the kids, she said, but eventually the hope is to add a brick façade to the metal building to make it more aesthetically pleasing. 

“The building may not be the best looking right now,” she said, “but what’s going to happen inside of that building is going to be the most beautiful thing in Evanston.”