If your school or sports club is searching for an 18+ fundraiser, then a blokey poker night with a guaranteed profit might be a perfect option.
In a nutshell
Fundraising ideas: all-inclusive poker night event
Suitable for: 18+ evenings only, sports clubs
Profit: varies according to package, starts at $500
Poker Deluxe operates across Australia in all states except the Northern Territory and Tasmania, and offers a complete package which includes all the chips and equipment, staff, some assistance with getting the necessary gaming licences, prizes for the winners, and guaranteed profits.
Players use chips on the night, not money, and the players with the most chips at the end of the night are declared the winners, with a range of prizes awarded depending on which package you have.
Keeping in mind that due to different regulations in each of the states, the packages and prizes offered vary slightly – but broadly there are three different packages: the Gold package with no guaranteed fundraising amount and modest prizes for the winner, but has no minimum number of players.
The Deluxe Package with $500 guaranteed profit and $500 worth of prizes, but you must sell a minimum of 30 tickets (at $50 each).
The Premium package which guarantees a $1,000 profit and has $2,000 worth of prizes including a five-star holiday to Bali as the first prize. You must sell a minimum of 50/60 tickets.
How much can you make?
The Premium package requires a minimum 50 people in attendance (60 in WA), each having paid $50 for their ticket. Players receive a certain amount of chips at the start of the night, and can buy more during the first part of the evening. 100% of all ‘re-buys’ go directly to the fundraiser. After that set amount of time (during which players can have re-buys), once players lose their chips they are out of the game, until there is a final nine.
The cost of the Premium package is around $2,949 in WA (including the cost of a gaming permit) or $2,600 in other states where a permit is not required. This is effectively the ticket price for the first 50/60 people, so it is essential that either players are encouraged to buy extra chips during the night ($10 re-buys), or more than 50/60 people are in attendance (they can host up to 160 with each guest over 50/60 being charged an additional $20).
For example, if 100 people attended and everyone bought an extra $20 worth of chips, the profit would be approximately $3,250*. However, even if you only have 60 players and no one buys extra chips, you are still guaranteed $1,000.
Extra funds can be made by selling food and liquor, raffles or silent auctions on the nights, although these would be organised by the fundraising group, not Poker Deluxe.
What is included in the package?
Poker Deluxe provides all the equipment, staff (host and dealer) and an engraved trophy for the winner and prizes. Staff will be based on how many players there are, and while the majority of the evening is self-dealing Holdem Poker, a professional dealer is provided for the final table of nine players. The Deluxe and Premium packages also includes marketing and promotional material. All packages include a learn-to-play tutorial at the start of the evening.
Prizes for the Premium package are valued at $2,000 and are awarded to the top 9 players including first prize, which is a trip for two to Bali.
Other prizes include professional poker tables and chips, Gold Class movie tickets, Android tablets and wine.
Case Study
Edna Rovira from the Associates Rugby Club has kindly shared her experience in holding a poker night with Poker Deluxe.
“A poker night is a very “blokey” sort of night and to enjoy it participants should have a base poker knowledge. Of course this worked for us at a rugby club with most guys not electing to bring partners.
We advertised with the posters sent to us, plus also on our club website, app and Facebook pages.
We only had 39 playing (60 is the ideal number) but we raised $2,150 on the gaming plus $1150 on a raffle. The bar was open and we also sold hamburgers.
I would recommend Poker Deluxe to groups of like minded males – it might not be such a good idea for schools or for couples, as you’re locked down at the table for an hour and a half at a time.
Getting the gaming licence was a bit of a pain, as the Department of Racing and Gaming only meet once a month, so I was mindful to get it in well in advance. It also requires a premises permit to be lodged at the same time.” [NB permits only required in WA]
For more information
Check out the website at http://www.pokerdeluxe.com.au/fundraising-events/
*Please check website for latest packages and prices
Updated October 2017