| Like a live game of Monopoly, sisters Taryn and Shaylyn Montgomery spend a few nights a year acting as cashiers and bankers, counting out thousands of dollars at their wickets. But they’re not playing a board game and they are definitely not dealing with fake money. They’re volunteering for non-profit organizations at casinos around the city, changing chips for hard cash winnings.
It’s all part of Alberta Gaming’s charity-casino program, which allows non-profit groups to apply for a two-night licence at one of the local casinos. The non-profit supplies volunteers to work as cashiers, bankers and chip runners, then it takes home a percentage of the casino’s quarterly profits.
Both students at the University of Calgary, the Montgomery sisters are well-known in the volunteer community. Taryn has contributed her time to Student Legal Assistance, Pro Bono Students of Canada, Calgary Communities against Sexual Abuse (CASA), the Protective Alternative Society of Canada (PASC) and CJSW radio. Shaylyn currently volunteers with CASA and tutors for the Adult Literacy program at Mount Royal College. They both started volunteering as a way to use their spare time to contribute to the community and feel good about giving their time to others.
"I don’t think people realize how much the casino nights affect the financial balance sheets of non-profit groups," says Taryn. "In two nights, you could have your operating budget, depending on your size. For CJSW, it’s enough money to pay for equipment and other things like that. That’s a lot of money."
The charity casinos can be appealing for non-profit organizations because they offer a chance to make a large sum of money in a very short time. Staffing a casino for two days can bring in thousands of dollars for any of the 9,800 organizations eligible to conduct charity gaming activities in Alberta – 2003 saw $133 million in net revenues for charities in the province from casinos alone.
Casino employees who oversee the cash cage operations are accustomed to the revolving door of volunteers. "They let you in on who are the high rollers down on the floor, give you the down low on the regulars," says Shaylyn. "It’s almost like a night out. When you’re balancing out the money at the end of the night, you think, well, I touched $70,000 worth of money tonight and I didn’t lose any of it – whew!"
"It’s like being in one of those reality TV shows," says Taryn with a laugh.
Free food, hanging out with friends, feeling like you’re smack in the middle of an episode of Las Vegas – are there any drawbacks to this gig?
Well, just like reality TV, they’ve had their share of strange experiences, like the player who kept changing in $10,000 worth of chips over and over. He would visit the Montgomery sisters’ wickets, cash in his chips and take the money. A little while later he would repeat the process all over again.
"It was so peculiar," says Taryn. "Every time he would do it, I would have to send a chip runner back to that table to supply it with $10,000 worth of chips. I thought my sister was going to have a heart attack when he kept showing up. We’re still not 100 per cent sure exactly what happened."
There are a few rules of engagement, like not commenting on anyone’s winnings when they cash out their chips. "Sometimes they’re in a good mood, sometimes they’re in a bad mood," explains Shaylyn. "If they’re cashing out $20,000, you don’t say anything because you never know – they could have started with $50,000."
Casinos can be a fun night out for some, but the flipside is the affliction of gambling addiction. "I find it stressful sometimes because you see people that have lost a lot of money," says Taryn, who is aware that while she is working for charities, they are profiting from the hardships of others.
"I kind of think it’s a mixed blessing," she adds. "Because there are people in casinos who aren’t there for fun. You can debate the pros and cons all day of whether or not it’s ethical to have non-profits making money this way or not. But the fact is, this is what the Alberta Government has set up and this is what they’ve got to take."
Although neither sister is a gambler, they both recommend the casino nights as a great opportunity to have fun and be socially conscious at the same time. "The best part is just being able to get to know a bunch of different people throughout the organization you’re volunteering with," says Shaylyn. "Being able to socialize within, but raise money at the same time." |
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