Aquatic Center is Rolling the Dice to Raise Money

Developed in 18th century England and brought to America as a gambling activity 100 years later, the dice game Bunco is now used predominantly as a social game amongst women — and now as a fundraiser for the .

The proceeds from the will go toward a new pool entry ramp for senior citizens, expectant moms and intellectually disabled students. Susan Gagain, director of finance and development for the BSAC, is putting together a Bunco event for the first time and is confident it can serve as a fun way to raise funds.

"It's great because it's a mindless game like Yahtzee where we can just have fun," Gagain said. "One of the women with the Brandon South Rotary Club just put this same event on and had a great reception, so we thought we'd do the same. We've got a ton of food and drinks and for this event; there are even some men coming. It should be a lot of fun."

The game consists of rolling three dice in a six-round game. The goal is to roll the number of the corresponding round with each die. If a player should roll the target number with all three dice, they have rolled a bunco and win that round. Otherwise, the rolling player gets one point for each die that matches the round number, with the first player to reach 21 points winning the round. The player who wins the most rounds wins the game.

Gagain has set a goal of raising $2,000 from the event for the ramp, which has an estimated cost of $3,500. Having seen the challenges facing users of the pool who struggle with mobility, she is looking forward to the completion of the project.

"We have our Team Trident students who are physically and intellectually disabled, as well a lot of seniors and expectant moms that use the pool, and right now it's challenge to get out of using the ladder," Gagain said. "We've partnered with Brandon Regional Hospital to host prenatal water aerobics class, but these women have a hard time getting out of the pool, so it'll be great to see the ramp put in."

If You Go

Tickets for are $15 and include dinner, beverages, bunco and prizes. Raffles wil also be done to help raise additional funds. Tickets are available at the BSAC Members Desk, or call Sue Gagain at (813) 751-4733. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m.