Tuesday, November 10th, 2015 | TechNews campus@technewsiit.com l a; I “E i : EEI 5 Students win big at Caribbean Visionaries poker tournament Kori Bowns EDITOR-IN-CHIEF HT student organization Caribbean Visionaries hosted their thirdeannual poker tournament in The Bog last Friday night, November 6. The event was limited to 64 students; the tournament was structured to have eight tables, each with eight students competing to win all of their tables chips in a game of Texas hold ‘em. Students from Caribbean Visionaries also served as dealers for the event. According to Nicholas Welsh, President and Event Director of Caribbean Visionaries, there was an immense amount of student interest in the event. Even though the tournament itself could only include 64 students, 118 signed up, and several others made their way to The Bog on Friday night hoping to get a seat in the tournament if one of the first students to sign up didn’t attend. As students arrived and checked in, light appetizers were served and students took their seats, many of them taking time to review poker hand rankings. While many students were worried about their lack of experience in playing competitive poker, the skill levels and experience among students varied vastly, providing a lighthearted and educational atmosphere for all. By the end of the night, three winners walked away with the top prizes of $100, $80, and $50. The first prize winner was Sahil Chalke, second prize went to Sunny Shah, and third prize went to Ariel Young. “The best part about organizing the event was seeing our hard work manifest into great success,” said Welsh. “The measures of success for an event of this nature was, first of all, to get all 64 seats filled, and more importantly, ensure our participants have a memorable experience. It creates a blissful feeling on the inside when participants are asking to sign up one year in advance for our 2016 tournament.” “Caribbean Visionaries would like to thank everyone for their continued support, and looks forward to giving our followers an awesome experience at each and every event,” said Welsh. “It’s also important to note that in addition to giving our supporters a wonderful time at our events, we are also trying to raise awareness of talented Caribbean students who aspire to study in the United States. In Caribbean Visionaries, we aim to create a pipeline that will help and benefit those students.” Welsh says that he thanks the hard work of the executive board of Caribbean Visionaries for planning, organizing, and carrying out the event. Students on the executive board all contributed to the event, which was funded by Illinois Tech’s Student Activities Fund. Photo by Kori Bowns Vandercook Live! Senior Rec1tal by Luke Moyta ae@technewsiit.com Photos by Reno Waswz’l A thrilling Halloween night filled with swing Ricardo Torres TECHNEWS WRITER The night of Halloween was filled with fun events and high celebratory spirits as people transformed into their spooky costumes and haunted the streets to trick or treat. On such a night, I would have shed my human appearance and joined the creatures of the night, but this time was different. My friend invited me to a Halloween event and little did I know of the experience that awaited me. I stepped out of the car and walked towards the door, and so it began. .. entered the doors of the Willowbrook Ballroom. The colorful lights and creepy decorations immediately caught my attention. I walked into the lobby area and the doorman greeted me as I sat down on a long soft couch to wait for my friend to arrive. I looked around the room and saw other guests preparing for the event. There was a vampire who walked past with bloody fangs that looked thirsty for fresh blood. A pirate sat across from me looking cheery after drinking his bottle of rum. 1 turned towards the door and saw my friend walking in. She wore a hat with fluffy ears and a pink and black outfit with a nice purple tutu. As I walked towards her I looked at a mirror to my left and on the brief reflection I saw Batman. We greeted each other and then walked eagerly to the ballroom to begin the thrilling night. The sound of swing music filled the room when the Flat Cats Band began to play. We all got together with our partners and danced the night away. I had never danced to swing music but after a quick lesson from the Willowbrook staff I was able to enjoy the dance and move to the cheerful rhythm of the music. All throughout the night, we went round and round with different partners dancing to the variety of swing music ranging from the slow and soothing beat to the fast and wild one that filled us all with energy and happiness. The festivity came to an end as the sound of music left the room. The creatures of the night walked back under the dark sky excited with the beat of swing still playing in their head. I said my goodbyes and was thankful for the thrilling and memorable Halloween night. Photos by Ricardo Torres