The Florida Marlins Community Foundation hosted its third annual Fish ‘N Chips casino night fund-raiser last night at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club. About 400 people attended, nearly triple the number of last year’s event at the I.G.F.A. Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum. The event’s host committee lowered ticket prices this year from $250 to $100 per person.
“When I came on board, we looked at the event format last year and [the planning committee] felt it was just a little too pricey,” said the foundation’s director of development, Jennifer Diliz, who led the team coordinating the event. “We're all in a rough economy, and we really wanted to get a great turnout.” The committee also created a couples ticket for $175.
Diliz also changed the event format this year by bringing in multiple local restaurants to sponsor food stations, instead of hiring a single caterer as the foundation had done in the past. Bar Rosso Restaurant and Vinoteca, Ocean Prime, Christine Lee’s at Gulfstream Park and five other restaurants served food during the cocktail hour, while dessert vendors Schokalad Chocolate Factory and Sugar Fancies served chocolates and confections inside the ballroom.
Creative Party Themes turned the ballroom into a temporary casino with its roulette, craps, and blackjack tables, some of which bore signs with an individual sponsor’s logo for those who donated more than $1,000, like Calder Race Course and Premier Beverage. Marlins players Hanley Ramirez and Jeff Conine and manager Fredi Gonzalez co-chaired the event and participated in the night’s gaming that included a Texas hold 'em poker tournament.
Each event ticket included $25 worth of chips for the casino games. (Additional chips could be purchased throughout the night.) At the end of the evening, guests exchanged their chips for raffle tickets and a chance to win one of 10 prizes. Additionally, the top three players in the Texas hold 'em tournament won a Tiffany & Company watch, a weekend stay for two at the Fairmont Turnberry, and a Marlins V.I.P. experience at Landshark Stadium as well as a signed Marlins All-Star poster, respectively.
The official DJ for the Marlins, DJ Petey, played throughout the night, which wrapped up around 10 p.m. The event raised more than than $40,000 for the Marlins Foundation and the Sun Sentinel Children’s Fund.
