How to Host a Classy Casino Night at Home
The nights are drawing in, and that means everyone’s a little less eager to head out on the town. But that doesn’t mean that you have to say goodbye to your friends until Spring returns.
By hosting a classy casino night at home, you’ll be creating the perfect opportunity for your friends to get together and have a night to remember all at the same time. While hosting a casino evening is slightly more work than, say, hosting a movie night, the effort will pay off (literally, in some cases).
Follow our handy tips for creating a casino night that a Las Vegas establishment would be proud of.
Choose Your Games
Casinos offer many games, but they’re catering to hundreds or thousands of people. Even the largest of home casino nights will only have around two dozen people, and in likelihood, many less than that.
For that quantity of people, you really only need a few games. Blackjack is by far the most popular casino card game, and it’s also extremely easy to learn for newcomers, so that should certainly be one of your choices. If you can find a home roulette set — they’re more affordable than you might think — then that can be another great addition.
And don’t underestimate the power of bingo. That game always goes down pretty well.
Create the Guestlist — and Set the Invitation Criteria
During the chillier months of the year, people are always eager to do something that isn’t watching Netflix all night long. So you should have no problem finding people who want to come to your casino night. In fact, the opposite might be true. You’ll need to keep the guestlist fairly tight, with the goal being to have enough people for an atmosphere, but not so many people that everyone’s waiting forever to play a game.
Also, remember that people don’t get to just turn up and do whatever they want. The invitees should add to the occasion. The best way to do that is to encourage/insist that they dress up in the fanciest clothes they can muster. If they ask for inspiration, suggest “a night out at the world-famous Monte Carlo Casino.” If that doesn’t do the trick, then nothing will.
Transform into a Croupier
You could hire a croupier (the fancy word for a dealer) for your home casino night, but let’s be real, the evening isn’t that serious. Plus, why hire a croupier when the best one in town — you — is already available?
Transform yourself into a croupier by picking up the uniform. For males, that’s a crisp white shirt and black trousers. For ladies, it’s a black or red dress. Feel free to accessorise as you like. Since you’re in charge, you’ll need to have a thorough understanding of the game’s rules and how it works. Hosts intending to be blackjack dealers can play the game at a reliable site online in the days leading up to the evening; since it’s a relatively straightforward game, you’ll have a sense of how it all works within a few hours. It can also be handy to have a list of the rules of your chosen games handy, just so you know exactly what to do in case something out of the ordinary happens.
Create a Casino-Friendly Atmosphere
The fact that you’re playing blackjack, roulette, and other casino staples in your home will make the space feel more ‘casino-esque’ than it usually does. Still, if you’re going to do something, then you may as well go all out! You can set the scene by utilising low-level lighting and investing in casino-worthy inspiration. For that, think along the lines of hanging card and dice decorations and a ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign. You can complete the atmosphere by playing music that elevates the ambiance; while ‘Viva Las Vegas’ by Elvis might work, we think the classier approach is to play light jazz or music from the Rat Pack.