How Can I Make My Vegas Theme Party More Fun and Engaging?

How Can I Make My Vegas Theme Party More Fun and Engaging?

A Vegas-themed party is an excellent choice. It leaves a lot of scope for guests to easily engage with the theme and get excited about casino tables and themed fancy dress, but let’s go beyond a few playing cards scattered on the tables and a bowl of peanuts.

After decades of experience in real casinos and hundreds of fun casino events, I've seen what gets guests involved and what leaves them standing around wondering when the buffet opens. The good news is that you do not need to spend a fortune. A few carefully chosen touches, a professional fun casino with friendly croupiers can inspire enthusiasm in guests and turn a good party into a brilliant one.

Get Your Guests Into the Vegas Spirit

The easiest way to create an atmosphere is to involve your guests before they even arrive. How about some fancy dress? Leave it open to interpretation and everyone can work it out for themselves. Twenty-one Elvis’ could be in the building, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, the mobsters, showgirls, there could be some Fear and Loathing. This all works brilliantly because the guests themselves became part of the entertainment. You can even have a prize for the best costume.

Prizes do not have to be an expensive prize. In fact, I'd argue that that shouldn't be, especially for the highest roller of the night. The object is to make people laugh, take photographs and get involved, not take it seriously.

Make the Casino the Centre of Attention

The casino should look like an attraction, it’s what people think of when Vegas is mentioned. Mock Vegas will set up realistic casino tables with professional croupiers and provide fun money so that everyone can join in. Guests don't need to know anything about casino games beforehand. Our croupiers explain what to do and encourage people to have a go. Some people will walk straight up to a roulette table and announce, "Right. I know exactly what I'm doing" (even if they don’t really. Others may stand six feet away looking at the table as though they've accidentally wandered into the mathematics department at university. They haven’t a thing to worry about, that's where our croupiers come in. They are friendly and approachable. They will demonstrate the games, explain how to play and reassure complete beginners that you really don't need a degree to play roulette or blackjack, two of the games I recommend most often because they're quick and easy to learn.

This isn't real gambling. Everyone starts with the same amount of fun money. It's simply a competition to see who can be the luckiest with it.

Choose the Right Casino Games

You may think that a Vegas party automatically means poker and craps. However, Texas Hold’em poker takes a long time so it isn't ideal if you've got 100 guests at a party and you want everyone to have the opportunity to play. Craps is a complicated game. We do simplify it but it does need concentration.

Roulette is brilliant for a party because people can play high and low risk bets. There's also something wonderfully theatrical about the ball spinning around the wheel while everyone waits to see where it lands.

Blackjack is another excellent choice for a Vegas-themed party. It's another fast, easy to learn game and works particularly well when guests are meeting and chatting.

That's why roulette and blackjack hire is such a popular combination for parties, weddings and corporate events.

If you have a low table to guest number ratio to entertain and the venue will be relatively quiet (background music) then Craps and Texas poker can work. This is where Mock Vegas experience can give the best entertainment value. If you have games where players and croupiers need to hear each other but are shouting above the music then guests will walk away to roulette and blackjack where communication is not so important and you have lost money on tables not being used. Of course, Texas poker is great on a specific poker night!

At Mock Vegas we also offer Casino Stud Poker, which is a faster and simpler version of poker and doesn't require the same quiet environment. It is set betting and set odds and it doesn’t matter about noise levels.

The important thing isn't simply choosing the games that look most "Vegas", it's choosing games that work for your guests and your venue. That's one of the reasons it pays to use an experienced fun casino company rather than simply hiring a few tables and hoping for the best. Mock Vegas advise to help you get the best entertainment value.

Give Everyone the Same Starting Point

To make the casino fair and engaging we give everyone the same amount of fun money. Then it's down to luck. Someone will build up their winnings on blackjack, then take it over to roulette, put everything on red, and blow the lot. Someone will probably announce that they have a "system". Someone will say they don’t know what they’re doing and end up with a mountain of chips, and that's all part of the fun. The beauty of fun money is that it creates a competition without anyone actually losing their own money. Our system also allows guests to move around the room, cashing in their chips for a cheque before moving to another table. It’s very relaxed with guests coming and going throughout the event as they please.

Don't Make the Prizes Too Serious

This is something I've learned over many years of running fun casinos. You really don't need expensive prizes, sometimes generous prizes make spoil the evening. If the luckiest player is going to receive a huge, desirable prize, people can become very serious about winning and that's not what a fun casino is about. A bottle of something appropriately bubbly, chocolates, a silly Vegas-themed prize or a small trophy can work brilliantly.

You can even have several categories. Perhaps one prize for the overall winner. Perhaps another for the best costume. Maybe small spot prizes for guests who have had particularly spectacular luck. Prizes are there to create a bit of fun and give people something to talk about, not turn your party into the World Poker Championship.

Theme Your Fun Money

Here's another relatively inexpensive way to make your Vegas party more memorable - theme your fun money.

We can produce customised fun money for events, including company branding, photographs, messages and other designs. It's a small detail, but it can make the whole casino feel much more connected to your event.

For a Vegas party, you could have your own version of casino notes designed specifically for the event which guests can take home as a souvenir, or you can put in your Monopoly set!

Don't Forget the Decorations

There are loads of inexpensive Vegas-themed decorations and props available online – giant cards, dice, casino signs, Las Vegas signs, neon-style accessories, and sunglasses that nobody needs indoors but absolutely look the Vegas part.

One of our most popular extras is our flashing "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. It's not just a prop, it's a brilliant photo opportunity. Put it somewhere with some space in front of it and you'll probably find that guests start using it as a backdrop for photographs before the casino has even opened.

You can take the Vegas look further with our red carpet with gold stanchions - now people are arriving in Vegas!

Get an Elvis

If you're really committed to the theme, why stop at casino tables? Book an Elvis impersonator, or hire a Rat Pack-style swing singer, how about Vegas showgirls?

It works particularly well because it gives the party another focal point and reinforces the theme while guests wait for a spot at the next casino table they want to play.

You could even theme the birthday cake. We’ve all seen some wonderful creations at parties and even on TV. Make it look like a roulette wheel, or a stack of casino chips, or a pair of dice (one vanilla and the other chocolate?), or the Las Vegas sign.

If you're having a corporate event, you can incorporate company colours and branding into the decorations, fun money and chips.

Let the Croupiers Join In

The croupiers don't have to look out of place. They are always smartly dressed, but if you've got a particular theme, just ask. Cowboys? Gangsters? James Bond? Vegas? Or if you've got costumes or props you'd like the croupiers to use, let us know. A professional croupier isn't just somebody who knows how to deal cards or spin a roulette wheel, they are a big part of the entertainment. They explain the games, encourage reluctant players, create a bit of banter and keep the atmosphere fun. That's particularly important to you when you have guests who have never played casino games before.

Tell Your Us About Speeches

This is more important than you’d think. It should be obvious but it is sometimes overlooked.

At one event, a speaker was in the middle of a emotional tribute to their partner. It was a genuinely heart-melting moment, but then from the casino tables came, "YES! BLACKJACK! SHOW ME THE MONEY!!"

I had asked and they ‘meant to tell us about the speeches’. It's a small bit of planning that can make a big difference. Just give the croupiers five minutes warning – we can finish the hand or spin, cash guests out if they want, and direct their attention to where it should be.

Give Your Guests Something to Take Home

Vegas-themed accessories make inexpensive party favours, the reason being it extends the experience beyond the evening. Sunglasses, casino-themed accessories, playing cards or other inexpensive props can all work. You don't need to spend lots of money on every guest but a small, funny souvenir can be much more memorable. If your guests have spent the evening wearing Elvis glasses, feather boas and ridiculous hats, they'll probably be quite happy to take them home.

The Most Important Thing? Get People Involved

You don't need to spend a fortune to make a Vegas theme party engaging, you need to give people things to do - dress up, pose for instagram, play roulette, try blackjack, win a silly prize, sing along with the Rat Pack, get a photograph on the red carpet or placing a stack of chips right on a number. That's what makes a themed party memorable.

A Mock Vegas fun casino is particularly good at this because it gives people a reason to get involved even if they don't know anybody else at the event. It is an excellent ice breaker because guests naturally start chatting about the games – where to place their chips, what each different bet means, should they double-down, etc. We've seen it so many times when someone approaches the roulette table saying, "I've never played this before". The croupier explains and ten minutes later that very same guest is explaining to the person next to them why they should definitely take another card.

That's interaction, and why Mock Vegas fun casino hire works so well for Vegas-themed parties.

Ready to Bring Las Vegas to Your Party?

At Mock Vegas, we've been providing fun casino entertainment for 17 years, with staff who have decades of experience working in real casinos as croupiers and supervisors. We've provided casino entertainment for hundreds of birthdays, weddings, corporate events, fundraisers and other celebrations.

We are based on the Surrey/Hampshire border and provide fun casino hire, roulette hire and blackjack hire across London and Southern England, including Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent and Essex, as well as the City of London and other areas.

We provide the professional croupiers, realistic casino tables and fun money, you provide the guests. We will take care of the rest. It's Vegas baby! You're allowed to have a little fun.

If you would like to know more about Mock Vegas fun casino hire or a quote please call for a chat on 08006127737 or use our contact page.