I don't often get the chance to get all dressed up these days, so when an invite landed in my inbox offering me the chance to do so, I was really, really excited! The event in question was a Great Gatsby Themed Charity Casino Night, hosted by Ladbrokes Poker. It fell on a Saturday (if you are a blogger, you know how rare this is), so I could actually attend for once! It was to be held in the Doubletree Hilton Leeds, which I had never actually been to before, so this got me even more excited about the event. Even though we weren't going to be playing with real money - good job, really - the winner at the end of the night would be able to donate £500 to a charity of their choice, which is such a wonderful thing to do for a blogger event. So, not only was the night due to be filled with lots of fun, games and getting all glammed up with my fellow bloggers, it was all for a good cause too.





Making your way into town whilst in very dressed up attire is not for the faint of heart, let me tell you! The event was due to start at 5pm, so I had to leave home before 4pm in order to make it in time. I got a few funny looks at the bus stop and another one from my taxi driver, but it was worth it! I actually ended up arriving a little early, so took refuge in the toilets in the lobby of the hotel to touch up my make up and sort my clothing out, as I had gotten a little ruffled from the journey. There I managed to bump into the lovely Rebecca, who I had never met before, and we had a good giggle before heading upstairs together. It turned out that the event was going to be held in the Sky Lounge, which was very exciting as it meant that we were in for some amazing views. Once we arrived, we were greeted with a glass of champagne, and waited for everyone else to trickle in. Everyone looked absolutely amazing, and it was very surreal to be surrounded by so many glamorous men and women whilst everyone else in the Sky Lounge were in jeans and tshirts! Soon enough, we were shown into our private room, where the poker tables (provided by Casino Hire UK) were all set up and waiting for us to begin.






Now, I had never played poker before, so this was going to be a steep learning curve for me. To be quite honest, I still don't really understand it but I got away with bluffing it for quite a while! Everyone was split up into groups, and once we had all sat down, our dealer explained the rules to us. We had a practice round to get to grips with it (again, lost on me I'm afraid), before we were playing "for real". To begin with, I did really quite well and had a healthy stack of chips in front of me. Everyone on my table was calling me out and saying that I must have played before, but it really was just beginner's luck, I promise! I was sat between Carolanne, who seemed to know a bit more than I did, and Bryony who knew nothing at all about the game, like me. The hosts certainly knew how to keep a big group of bloggers happy too, by bringing around glasses of wine to sip and canapés to nibble at throughout the game. Between us all on the table we managed to play a good few rounds before we had a break, and by the time that came around I still had a fairly respectable amount of chips left to play with.




During the break, many of us took the opportunity to step outside and take in the amazing views that we had from our own little balcony. I had never seen Leeds from this high up before, so to me it was pretty spectacular! Of course, being bloggers the cameras came out, and many photos were taken. With a little help from Lucy and her fancy ring light, we managed to get some pretty good shots of us in our outfits - thanks again, Lucy! My outfit was actually a "Plan B" scenario, as the dress that I had ordered specifically for the event didn't arrive in time, which I was pretty gutted about. Luckily, I already had an inkling that it wasn't going to turn up, and so I managed to create this instead. The dress was a charity shop bargain at only £2.50, which I came across when I was dropping off some items to be donated - I may never wear it again, but I don't mind for that price. The shrug I managed to dig out from the back of my wardrobe, as well as the lace gloves and shoes, which I hadn't worn in years. The pearls again I already had, and were an absolute essential to the outfit; you can't have 1920's without pearls, right? Finally, the scarf was actually in the goody bag that I received from a La Redoute event before Christmas, and was ecstatic when I found it, as it brought the whole outfit together. I was aiming to emulate this style from Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby - whether I pulled it off, I don't know but I certainly made the best out of what I had! I was also quite pleased with my make up for the evening too - after a little online research, I discovered that the 1920's girls were all about the red lip and smokey eyes, so that's what I did. It was really fun to go to town with my make up for a change, as I usually try and wear as little as possible!





After we had all pranced around on the balcony in our glad rags, and gawped in amazement at the magician that the hosts had rustled up for us, it was time to get back to the game. Quite a few people had moved around or were out of the game, so Lucinda ended up joining our table for the chance to win. My beginner's luck had finally run out, and I bowed out after one more round and lost all of my chips. I wasn't too sad though, as I had a glass of wine in my hand and some awesome girls to cheer on! Soon, the games were over, and it was time for the winners to group together onto one table for the final rounds. One by one, people bowed out of the game until it was down to two people, and everyone crowded around to watch. Remember Bryony, who I was sat next to at the beginning? Well, she had managed to get right to the end and was up against Karl; the atmosphere was tense, let me tell you! On the second to last round, Karl went all in and Bryony called his bluff, winning that round. Finally, Karl went all in blind and Bryony did too - everyone was waiting impatiently with bated breath to see who was going to be crowned the winner. It was Bryony! She had been dealt an ace, and as such emerged victorious. Having played with her at the beginning of the evening, I was over the moon to see her win and have £500 donated to the charity of her choice courtesy of Ladbrokes, which turned out to be Yorkshire Cat Rescue.



I think it is safe to say that I had an absolutely fantastic evening at the Great Gatsby Casino Night. Blogger events like this are so much fun, because you get to hang out with your favourite people, and be thoroughly entertained whilst doing so! It was truly one of the best events I've ever been to, as it was so different to the usual blogger event. At the end of the night, we were all sent away with a goody bag too, which was incredibly generous. As mentioned previous, we were not playing with real money, and to be honest I'm not sure that I ever would; I like taking risks, but not with my money and I can't put it where my mouth is! If you play poker or take part in any other form of gambling, please gamble responsibly and remember that when the fun stops - stop. Thank you to Ladbrokes Poker, Jennie at Search Labs and the Doubletree Hilton for a wonderful evening!