How to host your own casino night

Ever dreamed of hosting your own casino night, with a star-studded guest list and A-listers galore sat around your blackjack table?

It turns out you’re not the only one!

We conducted a survey to find out just what that dream blackjack table would look like to the nation. We polled over 1,000 adults to see who they’d choose from our list of A-listers to take a seat around their table. And from big names like David Beckham and Ed Sheeran, to acting legends such as David Jason, Michael Caine and comedy duo Ant and Dec, the results are pretty interesting!

Read on to find out more and discover our guide on how to host your very own casino night with friends and family.

Start with the games you love

First up, you need to pick your casino games.

Games such as poker may be easier for you to set up as they don’t require a lot of equipment, just a couple of decks of cards and an array of poker chips. However, something such as roulette may be a lot simpler for your guests to play, but would require you to make or buy a roulette wheel.

If you can’t decide, it’s worth thinking about what your guest list would be most familiar with, or if they’re not avid casino players, think about which games it’d be easier for them to pick up from scratch on the night, such as blackjack.

Once you’ve chosen, you’ll need to make sure you’ve got the right equipment for each game, and get yourself clued up on how to play them yourself – as games master, you’ll need to be able to answer your guests’ questions!

Take a look at our handy guides on how to play games such as baccarat, roulette and other table games for more information before you start.

Choose your space

Once you’ve picked your games, you’ll need to set up your space.

Are your guests going to be in one room at once? Or will you spread your casino games out throughout your house?

Bear in mind that you’ll need to be able to arrange a croupier for each game as it’s going on – you could enrol various friends and family members to do this for you, or simply all move around each casino table as a group while you take on the role.

Set the scene

If you’re hosting a casino night, you need to make sure your home, and you, look the part.

Make sure your space is clear from distractions, and any potential game ruiners – such as conveniently placed mirrors that could give a player’s hand away, or distracting mobile phones and other gadgets – should be safely tucked away.

You might also want to invest in some casino-inspired decoration – from card-themed colour schemes to full-on casino red carpets, palm trees and even a crystal chandelier, you really can go as all-out as you wish!

One key decoration to make sure you include is the right lighting. You needn’t go all-out and spend tonnes of money of fancy flashing coloured light, as a simple lamp to create focus and atmosphere around each table can be a real mood-setter.

It’s also worth setting out refreshments for your casino guests too. Canapes and fancy glasses are ideal for keeping on-theme, but alternatively, snack-food that’s easy to nibble on while choosing which game to play next will suffice.

As the host, you are also part of the casino scene. Set a dress code for your guests to really create a high-end atmosphere, and consider a bow-tie, smart suit jacket and even your very own “casino manager” name tag to complete the look.

Check the Guestlist

The top three celebs that our survey respondents would want to seat at their blackjack table are: Michael Caine (27.8%), David Jason (27.1%) and Idris Elba (19%).

While we’d all love to be able to recreate a games night with Becks, (who came joint fourth with Freddie Flintoff, Idris Elba and David Tennant at 19.7%), sometimes, reality can be equally as fun.

Although we can’t promise that any celebrities will be in attendance, there are seven seats around a traditional blackjack table, so try keeping to those numbers when looking at the attendees, plus a dealer. To make sure that all players get a piece of the action, rotate the dealer role among the guest.

Make it worthwhile

While playing the games themselves is sure to be fun enough for your party guests, adding a little extra prize to the pot can make it all the more interesting.

You could ask your guests to bring along a prize or two, or even arrange prizes yourself, such as homemade tasty snacks, a bottle of bubbly or even the odd bubble bath spa treat.

Remember: hosting your own casino night is all about playing for fun with your friends, it’s not about the potential prizes. As with any casino, it may be worth setting out a few ‘house rules’ to avoid any friendly disputes before you begin.

Game, set, enjoy!

Once you’ve done all the prep, invited your guests and planned out your casino party, all that’s left to do is enjoy it.

If you need any more information on playing casino games, check out our site!

Sources

Survey: 1,000 UK adults