Right at 300 good hearted folks seemed to find a great excuse to come out and play on Saturday night, July 5th. It’s probably hard to find a better excuse to have fun than getting to play your favorite casino games knowing that win or lose you’re helping the city’s chief charity, DIF, the 38 year old Office of Integral Family Development.

This program assists families and individuals, adults and children in nearly a dozen areas of need, including medical care, rehabilitation, women’s and children’s shelters, school breakfasts, and food centers for needy families, to name some. Las Vegas Night for Charity has raised one of DIF’s largest single contributions each year since the very first Las Vegas Night in July of 2012.

The idea was masterminded by Jim Ringquist, Director of Sales and Marketing over all the Sonoran Resorts, who felt that the Las Vegas format would be just the thing to make everyone want to come out and have fun on a Saturday night in our little slice of paradise by the sea—and he was spot on. The event gets better each year with more activities, more fun for everyone, and each year the funds raised have exceeded those raised the previous year. This year, once the donations are tallied, should be right in that growth pattern.

The fun was permeating and the atmosphere was studded with prizes galore, all donated by our generous local businesses. Indeed, as the evening matured it was harder and harder to find someone not carrying a bottle of Tequila Peñasco, a gift certificate for dinner, a massage, haircut, wine, or one good for a couple nights in a Sonoran Resorts beachfront resort condominium. They were carrying wine baskets, gift baskets, T-shirts, caps, and other creative gifts, including the one-of-a-kind shell art creations donated by internationally famous local artist, Julio Meza. Adding to the Vegas ambiance was Emcee Randy Van Hulle, owner of 27 year old Ace Casino Rentals of Tucson who has lent his expertise to the event since day one. Food was delicious and plentiful, and drinks were served in real glass glasses! For that we can thank Jerry Cáñez, owner of Jerry’s Catering and Banquets, who would settle for nothing less.

Puerto Peñasco Mayor, “El Profe” Gerardo Figueroa Zazueta and First Lady Rafaela Félix de Figueroa, who is President of DIF, took time from their busy schedules to enjoy the festivities, chat with volunteers from DIF and play some Black Jack and Roulette.

Finally, without a doubt, the continued overwhelming success of our annual Las Vegas Night for Charity would not be possible without the nearly 50 volunteers who dedicate many hours in behind the scenes preparations, even attending classes to learn how to make sure everyone has a memorable time while playing black jack and other casino games.

We hope you enjoy the photos since they tell a story of a thousand words about how much fun this valuable charity event is to attend. If you missed it this year, consider putting it into your plans for next year. There are a limited number of tickets sold each year, and, at just $35 USD per ticket, they sell out every year!

This article is brought to you by the Sonoran Resorts Sales Group, www.sonoranresorts.mx, Jim Ringquist, Director of Sales and Marketing.