At its upcoming Casino Night fundraiser, it will be the Matthew House that always wins.
Photo illustration by Jason Rearick / The Citizen
Matthew House bets on casino night
Matthew House bets on casino night
On Friday, the Lodge at Welch Allyn will be transformed into a gambling establishment complete with those familiar green felt tables for craps, blackjack and poker. This Casino Night event has previously pulled in crowds of up to 250 people who come from the Skaneateles and Auburn areas to lay down some coin for a good cause.
All odds fall in the favor of Matthew House, a not-for-profit two-bed home in Auburn that provides a comfortable and caring setting for the terminally ill. Matthew House has been welcoming residents for five years, each of which has seen a Casino Night held to support roughly a quarter of its annual operating expenses.
The games will be gambled upon with chips that are exchanged for tickets at the conclusion of the night. The tickets can in turn be used to win prizes without cash value in live and silent auctions. The grandest prize up for grabs is a dinner for 10, prepared at the winning bidder's home by chefs from Mirbeau Inn and Spa.
As plump as the prizes are, the games provide the most fun for the high-rollers who come to the fundraiser. The Upstate Vegas Events and Casino Dealing School of Rochester provides both the game tables and professional dealers.
“Craps is always a crowd pleaser,” said Georgina Pinckney, co-chair of the casino night's fundraising committee.
About a third of the people who come to play the night away come dressed in tuxedos to hold up their end of the night's authentic casino atmosphere.
“The wives like how their husbands look in tuxedos and they don't get a chance to put them in one very often,” Pinckney said. “People can wear anything - from a really crazy outfit to as dressy as they want - and they feel perfectly comfortable.”
The board of Matthew House will be decorating the casino space with all the fixings of the Las Vegas strip, as well as special flourishes such as flowers, confetti and mylar balloons decorated with dice designs.
“Anything that looks glitzy and Las Vegas-y, we hang up,” Pinckney said. “The lodge is such a big space we can get away with big decorations.”
That space is also sure to pack in plenty of card sharks and craps shooters who will come to the Casino Night to support Matthew House. Pinckney believes that all the money they drop to place their bets that night will be money well spent.
“We brought in our 74th resident on Monday, so clearly there's a need for Matthew House in our area,” she said.
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: Casino Night fundraiser for Matthew House
When: 8 p.m. to midnight Friday
Where: The Lodge at Welch Allyn, 4355 State St. Road, Skaneateles
Tickets: $100
For details: Call 685-1876
All odds fall in the favor of Matthew House, a not-for-profit two-bed home in Auburn that provides a comfortable and caring setting for the terminally ill. Matthew House has been welcoming residents for five years, each of which has seen a Casino Night held to support roughly a quarter of its annual operating expenses.
The games will be gambled upon with chips that are exchanged for tickets at the conclusion of the night. The tickets can in turn be used to win prizes without cash value in live and silent auctions. The grandest prize up for grabs is a dinner for 10, prepared at the winning bidder's home by chefs from Mirbeau Inn and Spa.
As plump as the prizes are, the games provide the most fun for the high-rollers who come to the fundraiser. The Upstate Vegas Events and Casino Dealing School of Rochester provides both the game tables and professional dealers.
“Craps is always a crowd pleaser,” said Georgina Pinckney, co-chair of the casino night's fundraising committee.
About a third of the people who come to play the night away come dressed in tuxedos to hold up their end of the night's authentic casino atmosphere.
“The wives like how their husbands look in tuxedos and they don't get a chance to put them in one very often,” Pinckney said. “People can wear anything - from a really crazy outfit to as dressy as they want - and they feel perfectly comfortable.”
The board of Matthew House will be decorating the casino space with all the fixings of the Las Vegas strip, as well as special flourishes such as flowers, confetti and mylar balloons decorated with dice designs.
“Anything that looks glitzy and Las Vegas-y, we hang up,” Pinckney said. “The lodge is such a big space we can get away with big decorations.”
That space is also sure to pack in plenty of card sharks and craps shooters who will come to the Casino Night to support Matthew House. Pinckney believes that all the money they drop to place their bets that night will be money well spent.
“We brought in our 74th resident on Monday, so clearly there's a need for Matthew House in our area,” she said.
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: Casino Night fundraiser for Matthew House
When: 8 p.m. to midnight Friday
Where: The Lodge at Welch Allyn, 4355 State St. Road, Skaneateles
Tickets: $100
For details: Call 685-1876
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