KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
The Henry Mayo Flame of Life Volunteer’s Casino Royale did great things for Emergency and Trauma Services.
It wasn’t Las Vegas, but judging from the enthusiasm of the community members attending the Henry Mayo’ Flame of Life volunteer’s Casino Royale Saturday, April 21, the debut event offered an evening of non-stop fun that could easily rival Nevada’s gaming destination.
Throughout the evening, enthusiastic cheers resounded from players as the stakes became higher at each of the gaming tables.
“It’s so fun to listen to people having such a great time,” said Linda Hafizi, chair-elect for the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Health Foundation board and publisher of the Magazine of Santa Clarita and élite Magazine. “I think the volunteers who organized this event did an amazing job.”
The event — hosted by Henry Mayo’s Flame of Life volunteers at the Sports Complex in Santa Clarita from 8 p.m. until midnight — included casino favorites such as black jack, craps and roulette. Players used “fun bucks.” At the end of the evening, players cashed their fun bucks in for drawing tickets to win items donated by local sponsors. Attendees also had the opportunity to bid on silent auction items and pre-registered individuals participated in a lively Texas Hold’em tournament.
The event raised more than $7,000 net to benefit Henry Mayo’s Emergency and Trauma Services.
“I think we did very well and I’m on cloud nine,” said Flame of Life volunteer Elaine Margulis, who planned the event with her husband Burt, also a Flame of Life volunteer. The couple had coordinated a similar event at Congregation Beth Shalom in the Santa Clarita Valley with resounding success and sought to replicate it to benefit Henry Mayo.
“The goal of this event was to raise funds to contribute to Henry Mayo’s Emergency and Trauma Services,” Elaine Margulis explained. “We have used the ER a few times and it is fantastic.”
Henry Mayo’s Flame of Life volunteers hosted the Casino Royale as part of their yearlong efforts (including bake sales, candy sales and ad sales in the Flame of Life Journal) to raise funds to benefit Henry Mayo’s Emergency and Trauma Services.
Toward the end of the evening, Texas Hold’em player Bob Benjamin claimed the tournament with a full house. Applause and cheers rang out from the Texas Hold’em table, where Benjamin humbly accepted congratulatory handshakes for his win.
Diana Vose, President of the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Health Foundation, thanked the Flame of Life volunteers for their months-long effort to prepare for the casino event.
“I want to thank the Flame of Life volunteers for all of their great work,” Vose said. “They planned this event with enthusiasm and commitment and they have done a wonderful job.”
Flame of Life President Judy Peterson praised the Margulises for a job well done and said she was very pleased that the attendees had a good time.
“I think the attendees really enjoyed themselves tonight,” Peterson said. “It was a fun, relaxing evening.”
