Viva Las Vegas

13 April 2012Jonathan B-E

Saturday, March 31st saw a little touch of the Las Vegas strip visiting the Brentwood campus in the form of Ellis house’s annual casino themed open house. While the casino lacked the bright lights and elaborate facades of the MGM Grand or the Bellagio, as well as the presence of real currency, it was crowded with a host of Brentwood students dressed — as the promotional video so eloquently put it, “to impress.” The night was filled with the sounds of the clatter of dice, the clicking of the roulette wheel and the snapping of shuffling cards. Excited shouts mixed with dejected cries, as the infamous Bank of Ellis currency changed hands on the whims of Chance.

There is certainty in repetition. Year after year, while other houses experiment with different themes, from Alice in Wonderland to a glow in the dark to video games, Ellis house stays true to itself and chooses the casino theme for its open house. With repetition, comes reputation. It becomes easy to rely on, or shun, based on how it has performed in the past. The Ellis Casino continues to perform, and in most cases, outshine the competition. Unfortunately, a lot of open houses die down midway through the night due to a lack of activities. Sure, there is the perennial dance, and perhaps there is even a chance to win a prize, but after awhile, one can only do so much dancing, and sit in so many rooms simply chatting.

The magic of Ellis’ open house is the ability to go from table to table and to actually be actively participating in the night. Whether your game is Black Jack or roulette, or you are more partial to poker or dice, there is always something to do. If you tire of the gambling, simply head downstairs and join in the dance, or head in search of the five-star restaurant (see, concession stand).

However, most people do not tire of the gambling. One of the draws of the open house is that if a student wins a certain amount of Ellis money, they can exchange their winnings for tickets into a raffle. This incentive adds an interesting level to the gambling, and it becomes intriguing to watch the people trying to go for the grand prize. People scurry around the tables, often working in teams and pooling resources. Others, go it alone, and try to win big at the high stakes poker tables, or risk it all upon the roulette table, a game with a notorious reputation for great reward and greater disappointment.

This year, all things told, the open house was an enormous success. Ellis saw hundreds of students, dressed in their finest, wandering its halls throughout the night, laughing and relaxing. Mr. Sullivan, House Parent, and Mr. McCarthy even got to break out their tuxedos. The whole house chips in to make the casino run as smoothly as possible, whether it is setting up or dealing at a table, each member of the house has a job to make sure that everything comes together as an open house that has the reputation of being the best, every year.

Jonathan B-E

Where Students Choose To Be