Casino Parties are a BLAST!. Looking for a little action? Gambling? Showgirls? Fun? Gambling? Food and drinks? More gambling? Casino Royale is a gala way to entertain large groups, and this makes a great corporate event or Fundraiser, too!But how do you plan for a Casino Theme Party? This guide has been created to help create the casino party of a lifetime. If you play your cards right, your guests will be treated royally and you'll be the talk of the town! Look out Las Vegas! Move over Monte Carlo! Casino Royale, here we come…

Invitations

First and foremost, you'll need invitations. You'll need to decide on an invite that best suits the occassion. You can select from pre-printed casino party invitations, personalized invitations, or you can make your own. Either way your guests will feel like winners just for being invited. If you plan to make your own invitations, we recommend the following. Make your invitations in the shape of a pair of dice, or in the shape of money.

For corporate events you may want to consider a custom design with your company logo or caricature of the president as the King or Queen of Hearts. These same designs can later be featured on candy bar wrappers, Welcome sign, programs and more!

Having a poker party?  We recommend you choose either a Poker Party invitation.

If your Casino Party is a Fundraiser, you'll want to include auction information and times on the invitation. Dressing up adds to the festivities of the royal evening, so you may wish to note on your invitation that this is a black tie affair (optional). 

With any of the options listed above, we suggest you add some play money and note to your guests that is for the first round of drinks.

Okay planners, we're on a roll so let's move on to Decorations.

Decorations

A fabulous way to get the guests in the mood is by dressing them up a little. Pass out Boas and top hats to your guests, which is your Ace in the hole to getting them to play along.

We recommend dressing up your casino with Casino party scene setters. These vinyl room rolls are sure to instantly create your casino to be one of a kind. You can choose from slot machine, money scene, casino lights, casino border, texas holdem, casino signs, vegas signs, big money scene, and big money room rolls.

• Purchase oversized playing cards or use a color copier to enlarge regular playing cards and mount on cardstock to hang around your party site.
• Name the casino after the guest of honor and use small twinkle lights or rope lights to outline their name on a custom banner. 
• Use twinkle lights to outline doors and your room and put them in the flashing mode.
• Hang signs over each “gaming area” naming the activity offered there.
• Create a lounge area for music and dancing. Set the atmosphere by playing casino party music.
• Have your dealers and croupiers dress in white shirts, bow ties, paper vest with and eye shades or a derby hat and they’ll be part of the decor.
• Get posters of places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno and Monte Carlo.
• Sprinkle your space with casino, dice or gambler helium or air-filled Mylar or latex balloons.

Tableware, Food and Refreshments

Casino party centerpieces are a great add to the table. 
As for the food, the menu is really up to you. You can have anything from a full-blown 7-course dinner or elegant buffet to serving munchies throughout the evening, with coffee and dessert at the end. However, it is recommended you use elvis or casino theme paper products to keep their mind on the game. If you'd like, match the food to the theme. If your decor is a Roman Empire theme, serve Italian food; Polynesian, serve Crab Rangoon or Coconut shrimp, New Orleans, serve Cajun, a New York theme, serve deli.

No Casino Party's complete without lots of drinks so cash bars are a good idea. If you're making toasts, serve champagne. With the drinks flowing and the gambling going you can bet your guests will have the time of their lives! Want to add some sizzle to your Casino Party? Modeling agencies can supply fabulous showgirls to walk around the game tables and serve champagne to your guests-unless of course, you want to do the posing.

• Light up and glow barware add to this glitzy theme. 
• Costume your servers to match your casino’s decor.
• Use cardboard cutouts of suits (heart, diamond, club and spade) as trivets for your buffet table.
• Make colored Jell-O squares.  Use cake decorating products to turn them into “dice” or card suits.
• Serve heaping trays of foil-covered chocolate or candy coins.

While gambling is surely the main attraction, you might want to set up a “lounge” for conversation and a floor show.  A karaoke setup would be perfect if you want your guests to be part of the show. At the least, make sure there's music to move the crowd.

Casino Party Activities

What's a casino without the games? Cover your tables with green felt cloths designed for poker, blackjack, bingo, keno, craps and roulette games. Or you can rent casino gaming equipment from local vendors. They'll have set ups for Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Wheels of Fortune and Roulette tables. They may even have a list of dealers you can hire to run the games. An alternative to renting talent is to tap volunteers from your own group to man the tables in shifts.

You can also buy hand-held electronic gambling games to give your guests the action of a real casino.
Near the end of the event, hold an auction where guests bid on white elephant items brought in by other guests using their “winnings.”
Did they have a bad night at the tables? Let guests take out their frustrations by taking a whack at a treat-filled casino pinata.

Fundraising? Use the evening's gambling theme to your advantage and hold an auction at the end of the night. You'll want to have the donated items and services you and your volunteers solicit in advance displayed throughout the evening. Set them up in a special part of the room, labeled with donors' names, everyone likes to be appreciated! At the designated hour, close the games, invite everyone for dessert and coffee, and then hold your auction. Depending on the values of your gifts, and the values of your bogus bills, you might want to allow attendees to supplement their winnings with their own real money, in order to get in on the bidding. Remind them it's for a worthy cause and watch the wild bidding begin!

Casino Favors

Casino party favors are a great way to thank your guest for coming to your party. Some great party favors would be....

• Coin sorters are great for your guests to count their "winnings."
• Fuzzy dice swinging from their rear-view mirror and/or keys on poker chip key chains will remind them that you think they're a winner.
• They'll love keeping their winnings safe in a small combination safe.
• Jeweled dollar sign necklaces will make them sing your praises.
• A deck of cards to take home with them.
• A rabbit's foot for good luck.
• A goodie bag filled with gold chocolate coins and play money.

We hope your Casino Party is a Night to be Remembered.