By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
When in Vegas, look for me at the nearest craps table. This one, however, was at Bonsai Restaurantat Restaurant Row Sunday night, part of the Dental Samaritans “Denim & Diamonds” fundraiser. I don’t think they’d allow a photo like this in Vegas.

Bonsai restaurant was transformed into a casino for the Denim & Diamonds fundraiser, Casino Heaven, on Sunday night. The annual event benefits the Hawaii Dental Association Dental Samaritans, a group that aims to fill unmet dental needs through outreach programs such as Give Kids a Smile, and educational and dental clinics like the Aloha Medical Mission Dental facility.

Thanks to Flash and Matty Productions and countless sponsors and supporters, there was plenty going on, from a silent auction to music by Anita Hall and the New Jass Quartet, to a little burlesque by Violetta Baretta of the Cherry Blossom Cabaret, to a fashion show by Bamboo Sky, and boutiques featuring Jade by Nikolai, Bamboo Sky and So Good Jewelry.

And of course there was food. Bonsai’s Luscious Bites menu lived up to the bill with pupu-style spicy tempura sushi, ichimi scallops, chicken karaage, garlic shrimp and teppanyaki sirloin with onions, bell peppers and mushrooms. Those who purchased VIP tickets also enjoyed crab cakes and ahi carpaccio.\

Casino bucks!

Guests paid $100 to a high-roller $400 for the privilege of gambling in Hawaii for one night. Don’t worry, it was all play money. I’d wager that most of the people at the gamling tables upstairs had no idea most of the other activities were going on. Just as in Vegas, the games were all-engrossing and there was just as much enthusiasm tossing the play money here as the real thing in Vegas.

Well, I’m kind of addicted to craps, so when I saw an open space at a table upstairs, I figured I’d slip in and practice various theories of hedging. But, it didn’t really work out. By the time I got there, the table was fairly unlucky, with everyone crapping out after about three rolls of the dice.

Models showed off designs from Bamboo Sky and So Good Jewelry.

And just as in Vegas, some guy came up to me and said he’d get in the game when I roll.

Which is weird. When I’m in Vegas, I try to look for the old man feeling the dice and lining them up just so; definitely not some Chinese chick who just throws them any which way. Sadly, I had something like $1,000 in play money and I just played $100 to see how far I’d get, which wasn’t very. So I just told the guy “I’m gonna be out before it’s my turn.” But, like I said, all the shooters were crapping out, so I got my turn sooner than I thought, and had three rolls before the dreaded 7 appeared.

Among the party-goers were, from left, Tommy Lee, Sheryl Gibo and Spencer Machida.

I thought the games would go on to 11 p.m., but it was actually close to 9:30 p.m. when they called for the last two rolls of the dice. On that second to the last roll, everyone pretty much threw all they had on the table, the shooter crapped out, and I had a $1 chip left. But I had a fun hour-and-a-half at the table, learning strategies don’t really matter with a run of 7s.

On this night, no one won any money, but the HDA raised $42,000 for the cause, and Christopher Chang, owner of Pacific Asian Creations, LLC., amassed the most casino bucks at the end of the night, at $42,286!!! For his tenacity, he had more good fortune, winning the grand prize of a Las Vegas Getaway, including roundtrip air and a two-night stay at either the Bellagio or Mandalay Bay.

For my sake, I would love to see casinos here. It’s so much fun, but I know when to stop. Unfortunately, many more people don’t, and if gaming were legalized here, I can imagine a community of broken homes, gambling addicts, crime and corruption. As if we don’t have enough problems. Think of it as the entertainment equivalent of meth and I have to go on record as saying casinos would do more bad than good for Hawaii.

The idea is tempting though. I’d prefer to spend $100 at the tables than the way the city is raising cash, by ticketing every car possible on technicalities. This month I owe them $105 for an expired meter and expired safety inspection sticker. That’s not fun.

Emily Lopez and Michael Goyne show their chips from playing roulettte, a quick way to throw away all your money.

Bets always fall heaviest on the 6 and 8.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 4:44 pm and is filed under Entertainment, Parties, Fashion shows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.