Flyers host fourth annual Casino Night at Vie: ‘It’s a great night for a good cause’

Guests surrounded the roulette tables, lined up their chips, and prepared for a night of giving back at the fourth annual Flyers Casino Night. Each year the fundraiser invites fans to interact with players as they participate in casino-style games, making it a team-favorite event.

“It’s a great night for a good cause,” said goaltender Samuel Ersson. “It’s one of those nights you always look forward to and circle on your calendar. So it’s nice to finally be here.”

Similar to last year’s Casino Night, the event featured a silent auction that included signed memorabilia from a number of different Philly athlete of all sports — including a pair of signed Allen Iverson Reeboks — as well as trips to destination vacation spots such as Italy, Mexico, and Croatia, and plenty of signed Flyers merch.

All proceeds from the event go toward Flyers Charities, to support their mission of “creating strong communities by eliminating financial barriers and reviving play spaces to grow the game of hockey and aiding local families affected by cancer throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.”

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According to Blair Listino, the president of Flyers Charities, the event continues to grow each year — adding more sponsors and even more fan activations, including a new venue, a new area for guests to get live watercolor portraits, and a spot to make their own Boxbar charm bracelets.

“Every year we try to be a little bit creative about different prizes,” said Listino, who is also CFO of Comcast Spectacor and the Flyers’ alternate governor. “And every year there’s a lot of new faces. We have a lot of new sponsors and I think it’s really exciting. It’s just showing that this event has been growing every single year and more people want to get involved.”

Vie, located on Broad Street, rolled out the red carpet and players dressed to impress as they prepared to interact with fans. Flyers centers Christian Dvorak and Trevor Zegras arrived in Christian Dior and Ferragamo dress shoes, respectively. Meanwhile, 23-year-old defenseman Jamie Drysdale made a last-minute trip to State & Liberty on Walnut Street.

“Well, I didn’t have a black suit,” Drysdale said. “And I figured Casino Night you kind of need a darker suit — navy, black. So, I went out and got this yesterday.”

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Although each player had a different red carpet look, they each shared the same answer when asked what they were looking forward to the most from the night: celebrating a good cause with fans.

“It’s awesome,” said forward Owen Tippett. “The fan interaction is a lot of fun. You get to meet all the fans that come out and support us, as well as mingle around and play games.”

Last season, through fundraising events like their Casino Night, Flyers Carnival, and Gritty 5K, Flyers Charities raised over $1.5 million.