By Jesse Zhou ’16
Staff Writer

 Peddie’s first casino night took place on Jan. 4. The activities included blackjack, poker, roulette, a craps table and a trivia game. Students of all grades tried their luck to win more chips in order to get more tickets for a raffle. Most students enjoyed the night and called it fun and a cool way to spend a Saturday night with friends. However, casino night stirred up some controversy with some, as they believed Peddie was endorsing gambling. This is not the case.

First off, this particular SNA was completely fictional: the chips were completely fake, and no money was used to obtain them. It was purely for entertainment purposes. If no money is used in the process, then no harm is done to anyone. In fact, you could make the case that because the money is fake, students learn the dangers of real gambling and how addicting and devastating gambling can be. The casino night teaches people that it is not a good idea to bet all money on one game. Through participating in casino night, students learned that gambling is not a responsible choice. Students can clearly distinguish that even though the rush of winning a hand of poker is extremely fulfilling, it should only be done on occasion.

The argument that the casino night SNA advocated gambling as a reliable way to sustain oneself is invalid as there was no real money involved and it taught patrons the lesson that excessive gambling is never smart. It was an educational SNA and should be done again.