It’s time to dust off your lucky charms and put your statistical knowledge to the test, as the Scorpion Booster Club at Sedona Red Rock High School will be holding its sixth annual Casino Night fundraiser with live casino games, food, beer and wine and live entertainment at the Sedona Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Feb. 10, from 6 to 10 p.m.
“Every penny that we raise goes back to the students,” club president Heather Hermen said. “[With] the proceeds from last year we bought art equipment, we paid for the baseball field to be redone, we bought new basketball [and baseball] uniforms for both boys and girls … We sent the track team to the state tournament and overnight lodging as well as bus transportation.”
The Casino Night in 2023 exceeded its initial goal of raising $30,000 by bringing in nearly $38,000, and Hermen said that the Boosters are raising the stakes for 2024 by setting a goal of $40,000.
“Last year we also sold every single item on the silent auction,” Hermen said. “I can’t tell you what a weight that is off of people’s shoulders at the end to not have to chase people down and find them for payment and get them their gift and their item. It all was so seamless. By Monday morning after the event, we had nothing left in our possession that belonged to anyone.”
The funds raised during last year’s Casino Night also provided a $100 Christmas bonus for 32 SOCSD staff members and paid for the club’s advertising campaign for the continuation of the Sedona-Oak Creek School District Maintenance and Operations Override through the 2030-31 school year.
Projected proceeds from the 2024 event will be applied to a science, technology, engineering and math project for fifth and sixth graders. The Boosters are also working with West Sedona School to teach engineering principles and have the students build a hovercraft in April.
“TheHovercraftProject.com teaches kids how to build their own hovercraft out of leaf blowers, hula hoops and fabric and they do all the math on it and then they get to ride the hovercraft across the gym floor,” Hermen said. “[Then] we’re also working with the track team to buy them a new jump pit …We’re always waiting for teachers to ask us for more items that we can buy. We paid for a darkroom for the photography class.”
During Casino Night, the musical talents of SOCSD students will also be on display with an extended performance from three members of the advanced orchestra program.
“They were so popular last year that we’re giving them an hour to play this year,” Hermen said. “That’s something that people should show up for right at 6 p.m. because the students are incredible.”
“We have the set list partially picked out,” Sedona Red Rock High School senior and Student Council vice president Skyla Bird said. “Normally, we just play like an assortment of past orchestra songs. We play some older songs, like ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love, ‘Eleanor Rigby.’ Some things that people would know. We have about 10 songs that we always play normally, and then we’ll pick out some new ones or we’ll learn some other ones.”
SOCSD high school students will also be offering a free babysitting service for the duration of the event in the SRRHS gym, including pizza for those attendees.
“The ratio of high-schoolers to kids in the past has been [around] eight high school kids to one little kid,” Hermen said. “These kids have the time of their lives because those guys play basketball with them and dodgeball and all sorts of games … there’s adult supervision as well.”
The table game lineup will remain the same as 2023, with Texas hold ’em, craps, roulette and blackjack, while the silent auction will offer a wide variety of goods and services from numerous Northern Arizona and Sedona-area businesses.
“When people play the casino games, they turn in their chips at the end for tickets to drop into three grand prizes,” Hermen said. “One of the grand prizes is an annual pass to SnowBowl with a two-night stay in Flagstaff and dining … Another is a dude ranch, with a two-night stay in Wickenburg for four people with horseback riding, meals and lodging included. The other grand prize is a trip to Phoenix with a hot air balloon ride for four people, and an overnight stay for four people and dining.”
The Scorpion Booster Club has a one-day special use permit for beer and wine for the event.
“We never run out of beer but the wine always goes,” Hermen said.
The Sedona Public Library is sponsoring a wine pull again this year. For $30, guests can grab a cork from a bag and receive a mystery bottle of wine corresponding to that cork.
“We’re excited to again host the wine pull at Casino Night,” SPL Development Director Anne Marie Mackler said. “Last year’s was a blast, and for this nonprofit library, the wine pull is a great way to bring in much-needed revenue, as well as be a part of such a fun community event supporting the school. With a wine pull, you can’t lose. It’s really your best bet because you will walk away with a bottle of wine … You’ll be investing in your community library. Proceeds will support both of our locations in West Sedona and in the Village.”
Tickets for Casino Night are $50 per person and can be purchased at both Sedona Public Library branches, at the front desk at SRRHS during school hours, from Booster Club members or at the door of the event.
“We only do one main fundraiser each year and put all of our effort into [this],” Hermen said. “It’s supporting our students in grades six through 12. The number one reason why we do this is to make sure that our kids have the things that they need and be able to offset the things that the state doesn’t help fund … The more kids we can impact and make their lives better, that’s our whole goal.”
For more information, visit scorpionboosterclub.com or contact Hermen at (928) 202-2374 or heather@frontburnermedia.com.
