MOST OUTSTANDING SOCIAL EVENT NOMINEE
Vietnamese Student Organization
at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The Golden Lotus
Provide a detailed description of the event and the population it served. Details MUST include: date of event, number of participants, program purpose (goals, objectives, etc.), use of resources (finances, community support, etc.), and marketing techniques.
VSOUL: Hello! You, yes, YOU, are invited the the grand Golden Lotus Casino! Golden Lotus is the 29th of February! Come play some fun vietnamese gambling games as well as other casino games! Food will be served! And remember to always keep an eye out as somethings aren’t what they seem!
*video closes, connection with VSOUL headquarters close
VSOUL: Oh wait, what's going on? We've seemed to lose connection to our webpage.
*video reconnects to an unknown source
Unknown: Psst...psst...the Golden Lotus is three days away, its gonna be the biggest heist you and the world has ever seen. come help this casino find its treasure or help us takeover..the choice is yours this saturday! doors open at 6p and the plans will begin at 7p. tickets are $5 for members and $8 for non-members.
The Golden Lotus was the re-grand opening of a casino that VSOUL started up last year. Many innovations were being made to upgrade the event, however, they're seemed to be an outside force that really changed the event forever. A group of criminals have claimed that they were going to disrupt the event and capture the grand prize. Is this true or is it just a hoax? Who's knows but VSOUL decides the need to boost the security presence just in case.
February 29th
Part 1 - The Casino
Today is the day! The grand re-opening of the Golden Lotus! The night started off with stations being scattered across UL's Ballroom, each station representing a unique game.
The games included were Bau Cua, Cotton Ball Pick up, Tien Lien, Three kings, Russian Roulette, and Black jack. Upon entry of the ballroom, people were given a cup of chips that designated the amount of currency they were given for each game. Each game required any number of chips to be played and the payout of chips would be given upon being victorious in the game. Each game having a different payout and rule. All seemed calm at first as there was no sight of any criminal activity taking place...
*lights cut off and cut back on after a few seconds. The casino owner rushes toward the speaker to talk.
Casino Owner: Sorry about that folks, nothing is going on. Everyone can go back to their games and remember to keep speaking your -
Before the casino owner is finished, he is interrupted by one of the guards that approaches him. As the conversation stirs, the casino owner seems to look worried and moves aside from the speaker. The guard steps on and speaks to the audience.
Guard: Hello everyone, I am sorry to inform you but the grand prize has been stolen. Although reinforcements are coming, we are still lacking a lot of manpower and we will need everyone's help.
Part 2 - The Heist
It seems the criminals weren't bluffing after all. They've succeeded in invading the casino and stealing the grand prize. However, before anyone could leave, the guards have closed every exit and have demanded a complete lockdown until further notice. Which means, the criminal is still inside and the grand prize is still intact inside. Asking for help, the guards are asking everyone to form search groups. The casino owner, reluctantly, offers the grand prize if found. After that announcement, everyone gathers up and waits for the guard's next order.
In this portion, games were a little bit different when compared to the casino games. Instead of luck, each game required cohesion among each group and a little bit of skill.
At the end of the search, the grand prize would be found and the group with the best performance would be given the grand prize.
What efforts were used to motivate and involve the organization's members?
Methods we used to motivate members during the event was to play a character inside the event. We wanted to create an reality that feels surreal. Each officer and committee member would play a character that made each interaction with members unique. Our goal was to create an atmosphere that made it feel like you're going to the biggest and baddest casino in VSA history. Immersion was our biggest goal in mind. Each member of the cast had to play their role or the event wouldn't feel special.
Here's a list of the roles given to people:
Hotel Owner: Very extravagant and always smiling, he likes to build relations with the visitors to ensure that they come back and give him their money.
Chief Guard Benson: Strong and tough man. Worked in law enforcement for 25 years and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Officer Benson likes to work alone and dislikes it when the public gets involved in his work. He’s a tough nut to crack but he’s also the key to solving the mystery of the theft.
Celebrity Singer: Biggest star in Hollywood. She started her journey in Vietnam as a young rising star and now tours the world giving private lessons and master classes all around the world. Looking to make her claim at the hotel tonight, her debut is cut short as the grand prize goes missing.
Detective Colson: Miranda Colson is prodigy detective from the New York Police Department stationed in Manhattan. She has studied law and criminal justice from a very young age at The University of Harvard, decided to pursue a career in law instead of criminal justice. She had became lawyer at the age of 20. Her father was captured a year later after a case went bad in court after she destroyed her opposition. Promising to save her father, she took a break from the court to become a detective. After getting vouched from a professor at Harvard, she was able to get a position at the New York Police Department stationed in Manhattan. There she spent years undercover tracking down her father while building relations within the department. After a few years, she had finally found the location of her father and the man that captured him. By then, she had gathered a team of her own, and got her father back. After that, she decided to stay a detective and is one of the best detectives Manhattan has to offer.
Agent JJ: Quite the comedian. Even when people are crying, skies are falling, and dogs are whining, JJ seems to make a joke out of anything. Other than bad jokes, Agent Jackson is known for being a phenomenal hacker. He left Louisiana after being expelled for hacking the school’s grades and went to California to pursue a career of his own. Returning to Louisiana in 2020, JJ boasts studying in Japan, Korea, Harvard, and London. Not forgetting his roots, JJ promises to return to comedy if his hacking job falls through.
Doctor: Casino attendee that gets wrapped up in all the commotion. Former detective, she decides to help out the police/guard force/
There are reasons why we had each personality selected to each role. We wanted each character to feel unique and a part of the casino. The hotel owner had to most confident owner there is. They were planning the grand opening of their casino despite the attraction of criminals. The celebrity singer brings in attention to the casino. The other roles were crucial in parts of The Heist. Each game required a unique experience that made each attendee want to do it.
Did the organization overcome any challenges that arose while planning and implementing the event? How?
The challenges we had to overcome revolved around execution of the two parts of the casino. Each casino helper had to tend to each station as well as transform into an entire new role for The Heist. To overcome these problems, meetings were held weekly to learn each game, each role, each activity.