Here’s your opportunity to be a high roller, all for a great cause!

UAB’s Minority Health Research Center Young Professionals Board presents its annual fundraiser, Casino Royale, at WorkPlay on June 1. The event, which has been held since 2009, is a premier evening of music, casino games, great food and amazing prizes benefitting the Healthy Happy Kids program, which combats obesity in school-age children by promoting nutritious eating and physical activity. Last year, the event welcomed over 600 guests and raised over $70,ooo. The program has reached nearly 600 kids and has been implemented in 14 Birmingham City Schools, thanks to the funding of the Young Professionals Board and other sources.

Stephanie Mays (an attorney at Maynard, Cooper and Gale) is the board’s president, and she shared that this year’s event will involve a new twist: the addition of mystery boxes for sale.

“For $25 you could draw a box and whatever is in that box you can take home [such as a gift certificate]. We’ll also have three different glass cases. In one we’ll have a variety of wines donated by members of the board. Another glass case will have liquor. And a third will be filled with whiskey and cigars. For $20, guests can buy a chance to unlock those cases. And whoever is lucky enough to purchase a key that unlocks a case gets to take home whatever’s in it.”

Tickets are $50 each until midnight on Sunday, May 27th and are available online; after midnight the price will increase to $65. “The ticket price includes food from the Fish Market, complimentary beer and wine, access to all gaming and each person gets a certain amount of play money to play the games,” says Mays. At the end of the night, the play money is cashed in for raffle tickets to be used to determine the winners of the door prizes.

BBrian will be on the wheels of steel as this year’s dj, and Diamond Dealers manning the Texas Hold ‘Em, roulette, craps and blackjack tables will include the following community leaders and personalities: Sly King and Tasha Simone of Hot 107.7, Eric Guster of the Guster Law Firm, Yenu Wodajo of ABC 33/40, Birmingham City Councilman Jay Roberson, NBC 13’s Bettina Boateng and Harmony Mendoza, Bruce Ayers from the Comedy Club Stardome, John Hudson from Alabama Power, and DZire Inc.’s Meme Williams.

Mays is enthusiastic: “The outpouring of community support is phenomenal [Primary sponsors include Balch and Bingham and AT&T.]. And we’re keeping it fresh; there will be new additions and things that keep the event worth coming to. And it’s for a good cause! It’s for the children!”

Cocktail attire is advised; to brush up on the rules of play for the evening, click HERE. The doors will open at 7:30 PM, and WorkPlay is located at 500 23rd Street South, Birmingham 35203.

See you there!