Rotary Club’s Las Vegas Night was ‘biggest ever’

The Rotary Club of Saipan sold out another round of 10,000 tickets this year, raising more than $40,000 for its community service projects through the 2015 Las Vegas Night on Saturday at the Saipan World Resort.

Triple J. Enterprises’ Felix Palacios, who was not present during the drawing, was the evening’s biggest winner of the much-awaited raffle and will get to choose between the $10,000 grand prize or a brand new Mazda 3 car.

The rest of the top 5 winners included a no name ticket for $500, Patrick Fernandez who won $1,000, L. Camacho who won $2,000, and Rotarian past president Carl Reyes, who won the second prize worth $3,000.

All game tables were packed, as roulette and blackjack players tried their luck. Hundreds of bystanders, however, waited patiently for Lady Luck as 30 door prizes were called at the top of the hour.

This year, the players were able to use cash on the blackjack tables instead of chips due to a shortage and an increase in the number of blackjack tables as the club had done away with Texas Hold ‘Em and focused their efforts on bingo and roulette as well.

The night also debuted a new guessing game, which Rotarian Steven Connor of the Marianas Stamp and Coin Club called a game of skill. Over 100 participants tried their luck while Eloy Cabrera took home the priceless collection of silver dollars and half dollars after guessing the closest dollar amount.

Bingo was packed, with not a seat vacant, as $500 jackpots rolled out through the evening.

Club treasurer Tom Thornburgh said that ticket sales were very successful.

“We really appreciate the community coming out and supporting Rotary,” he said. “We appreciate them keeping with tradition and being a part of this event. To all the winners, congratulations.”

President-elect Ivan Ilmov added, “People come to this event because they want to support good things. All money goes to charity. It’s all for fundraising. That’s why we give a huge thank you to the community for supporting us every year.”

Rotary president Curtis Dancoe noticed that the crowd has become bigger, with more participants at the tables than before.

“This is our signature event. We had 17 tables of blackjack, which is the most we’ve had,” he said, as more tables and a new game offered more opportunities for patrons to win.

For those who missed Texas Hold ‘Em this time, Dancoe said, “We’ve attempted poker and we felt from best practices it was mediocre at best. We didn’t have enough people to deal and manage the tables so we decided not to do it. …This year, we focused on roulette and blackjack but in the spring, we’ll be having an exclusive Texas Hold ‘Em championship tourney.”

He said the club is also planning a couple more activities, including a goodwill golf tournament next month.

For everyone who came out this year, Dancoe said, “Thank you for your contributions and thank you for your support.”

The event was sponsored by Micronesia Brokers, Inc., D&Q, Tasi Tours, Paradise Dental, Armatech, Bank of Guam, First Hawaiian Bank, McDonald’s, IT&E, Docomo, Naked Fish, the Marianas Coin & Stamp Co., Best Sunshine International, Ltd. and DFS, with volunteers from Rotaract and Interact.