GSH offers casino events for business, private parties
Casino-inspired parties bring the feeling of Vegas to the banquet halls, restaurants, and homes of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. GSH Casino Parties provides everything clients need - the tables, dealers, and chips - to turn any venue into a pop-up casino while educating partygoers on the finer points of casino games. These parties are as much about learning how to play black jack, craps, and poker as they are about playing each game.
After five years as a professional poker player, Girard Hendelman, the president of founder of GSH Casino Parties, began working as a dealer for several casino party companies. Fueled with the passion to make the casino party experience better for individuals, Hendelman formed his own company in 2014. He hired Mike Oboikovitz as general manager in 2015 and the pair now works with over 100 dealers to provide guests with an entertaining and educational party experience.
"We give them [guests] the basics so that they're comfortable enough to walk into a casino if they're ever in that situation, or want to be in that situation, that they'll know what to do and how to act," said Hendelman.
Since launching, GSH Casino Parties has nearly quadrupled the number of parties they provide entertainment for. The holiday season is their busiest time and is filled with corporate parties and fundraisers, but Hendelman said he's seen an uptick in off-season events as well. Pop-up casinos are gaining in popularity at wedding receptions, team building events, and even private birthday or anniversary parties.
GSH offers a number of casino party packages for clients to choose from, all with customizable options. Hendelman works with clients to determine which games and how many games best match clients' venues and party size. Roulette is played at every party. Hendelman said black jack is the most popular game requested and played, but people are most interested in learning how to play craps. Casino parties typically last three hours with a mix of instruction and playing time. At craps tables in particular, dealers do quite a bit of instructing on how to play the game.
"We pass out strategy cards with black jack. We put them on every table and guests can take them and can learn," said Hendelman.
Guests never pay to play. They receive "funny money" at the beginning of the event and use it to play at each table. Guests play for prizes, raffle tickets, or bragging rights, depending on how hosts set up the party.
With the exception of the poker table, all GSH tables are standing tables. Unlike Vegas, which has chairs in front of every game to entice players to sit at one game and gamble for long periods of time, standing tables encourage people to move around and try as many games as possible.
"This is an opportunity to try all types of casino games and not just play black jack because you understand it, but to experience some of these other games that you can find exciting as well," said Hendelman.
For more information, readers can visit www.gshcasinoparties.com.