Play it safe with Condom Casino

Bring your Lady Luck, try your hand at some gambling and cash out for condoms at Condom Casino at 9 p.m. Wednesday on the Starlight Terrace in the Student Union.

The Student Union Activities Board is hosting this free event to promote sexual education for OSU students and provide an opportunity for them to collect up to 40 free Trojan-ENZ condoms.

"The whole idea of Condom Casino is that it's educational and fun at the same time," said Amanda Renk, SUAB cultural arts and social issues committee chair.

Wednesday is also National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.  Kai Dameron is presenting a safe sex lecture about prevention during the event. Dameron is a counseling, testing and referral outreach coordinator from Regional AIDS Intercommunity Network in Oklahoma City. Following her lecture, students will also be offered a free HIV and AIDS test.

"We're excited to be coming out and outreaching to the college demographic," Dameron said. "Our message really is prevention."

Registration for the event begins at 8:30 p.m., with the casino games starting at 9 p.m. and it's expected to last until about 11 p.m. Students will receive a tray with 20 poker chips after entering their names and e-mail addresses. The games include blackjack, craps, roulette and poker.  A condom is worth two chips, which don't count toward regular SUAB casino nights.        

SUAB is also providing free food and 16 door prizes, including two secret prizes from Christie's Toy Box to help shake up the winners' nights. The event has received some positive feedback from students who plan to attend, like Joshua Edmonson, a history sophomore.

"It'll probably be the most fun you can have with condoms without worrying about a baby," Edmonson said.  "I think it's a great idea, especially with the presenter and free testing."

HIV is an incurable sexually transmitted infection that affects the immune system, making it difficult for the body to fight infections, according to the CDC. AIDS is the final stage of HIV.  The test being offered involves a cheek swab.  Students will receive the results within 15-20 minutes after the test is completed.

About 2,200 cases of HIV were reported at the end 2007 in Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health. People from 20-29 were the largest age group with about 800 HIV cases.

The CDC estimated one in five people living with the HIV infection in the United States don't know they are infected, and 80 percent of new HIV infections in women and girls result from sex with an infected male partner. Using a condom is a way to help reduce the risk of transmitting an infection — if it is used properly. SUAB is including instruction sheets with the condoms.

Promotional posters for the event have the slogan "don't gamble with your goods." This slogan is a fun way to show the underlying theme of Condom Casino, Renk said.  The main goal of Condom Casino is to have a sex positive event with as many people having as much fun as possible.

"Brush up on your blackjack, review the rules of craps and just come in there wanting to have a good time because that's what we're wanting to do," Renk said.