By Susanne Prochazka 3L
On April 18th, 2013, James Bond came to the East Village when International Law Society and Criminal Law Society hosted the Monte Carlo Casino Night & Poker Tournament Fundraiser event at Luce Loft. The Monte Carlo Casino Night is International Law Society’s annual fundraising event with all proceeds funding student scholarships. These scholarships can alleviate the costs for students studying or interning abroad during the summer of 2013. Criminal Law Society’s annual Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tournament raises funds for local nonprofits. All proceeds from the Poker Tournament went directly to the Innocence Project, an organization committed to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals. This year, the two student organizations joined forces and created a merged casino fundraising event.
The evening began with some lounge music, as well as wine and sushi donated by Infuzon Restaurant. As the night progressed, students mingled and on the grou8nd floor and played casino games such as poker, blackjack, roulette and craps. Several people participated in the poker tournament on the second floor with the top prize being a $100 gift card.
Our celebrity dealers of the evening included Professors Ellen Waldman, Jeff Slattery, Joy Delman and Julie Greenberg. Professor Slattery captivated attendees by working the complex and engaging craps table while Professors Waldman, Delman and Greenberg adeptly dealing cards at the blackjack and poker tables.
One of the main draws of the Monte Carlo Casino Night is the date auction, where brave TJSL students are auctioned off, with all proceeds going directly to the scholarship fund. Professor Slattery was the dynamic auctioneer describing the individuals and the fun dates offered. Date activities offered included scuba diving, sailing, bicycling along the beach and a picnic in the park. This year, the lucky students auctioned off were: Aria Fadakar, Bryana Carey, Zach Spear, Julie Houth, Samir Atta, Kyle Molchan, Timothy Bradford, Daven Raj, Elizabeth Chu, Kelly Hayes and Marshall Lurtz. The date auction was a fun and raucous interlude to the casino games.
The raffle prizes for the evening were provided by generous donors from around the San Diego community. Some of the exciting prizes raffled off at the end of the night included Sea World passes, San Diego Zoo passes, rock-climbing and cooking lessons, yoga passes, paintball, laser-tag and ballroom dancing lessons. The much sought-after prizes of two Hornblower cruise tickets and a two-night stay at Indigo Hotel were also raffled off to lucky attendees.
After the lively raffle, the night ended with a bang. Literally. At 10:30 pm, the craps table fell to the ground with a thud, signaling the end of the evening to the revelers. Overall, the event was a great success raising over $2,000 for scholarships funding students’ studies and internships abroad this summer. Until next year, casino-goers!