Valentine Dining Hall transformed into a luxurious casino Saturday evening, as the 40th annual Casino! fundraiser attracted a slew of students, faculty and staff. No one won the highly coveted and advertised new car, but a 19-inch TV, an iPod and a GPS system topped off the list of prizes given out at the charity event. The proceeds, which amounted to nearly $3,500, went towards financing the college education of high-achieving students in the Dominican Republic.

“Watching a large number of Amherst students enjoying themselves was yet again a special pleasure for me,” said Associate Dean of Students Samuel Haynes. “By the night’s end, an old event polished with a few contemporary changes reinvigorated it for years to come.”

Leading up to the event, there was much anticipation for one prize—a 2009 Toyota Matrix. To win it, students had to spell out “AMHERST” with seven dice, each containing only one of the seven letters. The odds of victory were 1:279,936, and no Amherst student pulled off the miracle. The car, according to Haynes, will be returned to the dealership.

­—Jonathan Thrope