Players gamble with condoms, play sex-themed games at Condom Casino Tour

The two stacks of chips were about equally as high.

Macomb junior Blake Ryan and South Lyon freshman Derek Sawle were in a dead heat halfway through their game of Texas Cond’em.

Condoms were used as currency to gamble with. Ryan said he was an aggressive poker player, and that fact didn't change now that he was playing for condoms.

"Go big or go home, that's what I've always said," Ryan said.

Derek Sawle, who was decidedly less aggressive, said playing for condoms wasn't such a bad transition.

"I can see myself doing this at home," Sawle said. "It would be B.Y.O.C.: Bring your own condoms."

Ryan conceded that he might have had an unfair advantage.

"I've been cheating this entire time," Ryan said.

They were taking part in a free night of entertainment and sexual education called the “The Condom Casino Tour,” put on by Central Michigan University's Program Board. The Condom Casino Tour transformed the Rotunda room of the Bovee University Center into a sex-themed casino Tuesday night.

Students were able to choose from 10 sex-themed casino games. Some of the games included Lucky in Love Dice, Let It Ride and STD Bingo. Each game educated students about the use of birth control and avoiding sexually risky situations, the danger of STDs and the effects of alcohol on decision-making.

Brooklyn freshman Kelsey Lamson tried her hand at Beer Goggle Blackjack, where players played blackjack while wearing glasses that simulate intoxication.

Lamson was the first in the group who had the privilege of playing with the beer goggles on. She said they presented her a challenge she hadn't expected.

"It just made it really difficult to see the cards; I had to lean in until I was really close," she said. "It was just interesting."

Lamson won four condoms throughout the night, and she knew what she was going to do with them.

"I'm just collecting them for the wrappers," Lamson said. "They have real cool wrappers."

Prince Beyan, a Mount Pleasant senior, said he appreciated the casino awarding its winners condoms.

"You never have condoms when you need them," Beyan said. "Never do. Never will."

Beyan's strategy was ruthless but efficient.

"My strategy is to swindle everybody," Beyan said. "No exceptions."

Public Relations Chairperson Nicole Murawski said the condom casino got off to a slower start at the beginning of the night, but attendance soon picked up.

"I think students are skeptical about gambling and some of the subject matter, but they have gotten past that and have realized that this is simply about having fun," the Austin senior said.

Murawski said the outcomes of the casino were often ironic, with women winning more condoms than men.

"We've had a lot of girls win over 15 condoms," Murawski said. "They've been doing well."

The casino marks the end of the Program Board’s Sexual Awareness Week. Other events included The Great Porn Debate last week, a screening of the documentary “Let’s Talk About Sex” on Wednesday and performances of “The Vagina Monologues” in Anspach 161 last weekend.