Your Questions Answered: How to Throw a Casino Themed Party!

Hey Ya’ll,

As a professional event producer, people are always asking for my advice on how to plan various types of parties, weddings and events. Today, I’m answering a question I recently received via Twitter about how to host a Vegas themed casino night in your home.

First off, let me say that this is a great idea for a party because it allows for tons of guest interaction. Although, if you’re not careful, hosting this type of party can quickly become an expensive endeavor! With that said, here are a few things to keep in mind as you begin planning your casino night:

• Set a firm budget for your party that includes food, drinks, decor, invites, rentals and any hired help you’d like to have work the event (i.e. card dealers, bartenders, caterers, cocktail servers, etc.) If your budget allows for it, here’s an excellent link for casino themed party rentals: www.uscasinorentals.com. Otherwise, use this site as a reference for anything you’re planning to craft for your party yourself (i.e. casino game boards/equipment). Also, see if you can get a few friends to volunteer to bar tend or play dealer for the night to save money.

• Send out casino themed invitations that provide the following information: where, when, how guests should dress (Think: James Bond Casino Royale/Black Tie/Vegas attire), and what games will be played, along with any house rules (i.e. will you be playing with real or fake money?). I recommend playing with fake money, it takes the pressure off and more people will want to play. Using a website like Festisite.com, you can even put your own face on the fake money and print outrageous bills in different colors like I did here:

DECORATIONS…
As far as party decorations go, keep it simple! One thing I highly recommend doing is creating several casino style surfaces for your guests to play games on by covering tables in green fabric, preferably velveteen, like this:
Next, make a fun casino themed masks and mount them on wooden skewers using red, black and white paper for your guests to pose with for pictures and play with during the party.
TIP: These party favors can double as decor if you display them throughout the party by sticking them into rice-filled black and red vases!

FOOD & DRINK…
For this type of party, the food should be as non-greasy as possible (everyone will be using their hands a lot and sharing cards!) and easy to eat. Anything that can fit on a cute casino themed toothpick is perfect or foods that can be eaten in only a few bites. Like this cute pizza on a stick recipe I found on House and Home:

Or this smores recipe I found on this great blog called In Honor of Design:
In terms of beverages, you’ll want to serve almost everything in either highball or martini glasses for the casino royale effect! For a few James Bond style cocktail recipes, click HERE.
Garnish with red dice or poker chips for fun. I also came up with an idea to dress up any other drinks you serve in short rocks glasses…
Simply add a single die to each slot in an over-sized rubber ice cube tray, add water and freeze. Disclaimer: This is fun, as long as no one chokes!

ACTIVITIES….
It’s all about the games! A few to include at your party are: Blackjack AKA 21, bingo, poker, baccarat, roulette, and craps. Keep in mind, for some of these games you’ll need more than a few decks of cards and chips. HomeCasinoGames.com sells just about any item you would need for a these games…. but don’t be afraid to get creative and make your own playing boards, chips, money, etc.

And that’s how you throw a casino themed party at your home! So, are you in need of some event planning advice? Tweet me your question @YourBASHbworley on Twitter or simply leave your question in the comment section below and I’ll do my best to help you create an extraordinary experience no matter what the occasion!
-Brian

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