Stars, Cars and Cards: win-win for Dallas-Fort Worth community

Posted By: Park Place Dealerships - 2012-02-02

14^th Annual Dallas Stars Foundation - Park Place Dealerships Casino Night raises over $250,000 for local children's charities

Park Place Motorcars Grapevine was transformed into a little slice of Vegas recently when they hosted the 14th annual Park Place Dealerships – Dallas Stars Casino Night, complete with beautiful girls in slinky black dresses, gourmet food, specialty cocktails, hand-rolled cigars and a room filled with Stars.

More than 600 fans attended the sold-out fundraiser and raised more than $250,000 for the Dallas Stars Foundation, which supports local children’s charities that positively impact the lives of children through teamwork, interaction and education.

“Casino Night is the most anticipated Foundation event," said Lora Farris, Executive Director of the Dallas Stars Foundation. "We have fans who look forward to the event each year and are always eager to purchase tickets when they first go on sale.”

 
Left-to-right: Rob Schweizer, Park Place Volvo General Manager;  Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow;  Lora Farris, Executive Director, Dallas Stars Foundation; Jim Lites, Dallas Stars President & CEO; and Stephen James, Jaguar Plano General Manager.

Stars players, coaches and broadcasters acted as casino dealers while interacting with guests. When not dealing, Stars players and personnel walked around the dealership greeting fans and signing autographs.

“The Stars players are the best,” said Stephen James, General Manager of Park Place Jaguar Plano. “They’re very down to earth. They mingle and talk to everybody. It’s a lot of fun for everyone.”

Casino games and tables were set up in both showrooms. Auction items lined one wall and the service garage was filled with tables laden with delectable dishes from III Forks Steakhouse, including beef tenderloin croustades, chicken satay with peanut sauce, mini crabcakes, seared Ahi tuna nachos, Kobe beef sliders and the incomparable III Forks Salad. Brown-Forman provided specialty cocktails like Honey Nut Martinis, Gentleman Jack Old Fashions and Whiskey Sours and a Parisian Cosmo. Other sponsors included Anheuser-Busch, Robert Mondavi, Dr Pepper and the Airport Valet.

 
Catering by III Forks Steakhouse at the Dallas Stars Foundation's Park Place Casino Night at Park Place Motorcars Grapevine

“The partnership between Park Place and the Dallas Stars has been long and mutually beneficial,” concluded James. “It’s a great way to give back to the community. The Dallas Stars Foundation helps a number of different charitable organizations, so we can touch many lives throughout the year because of this one great event.”

The Dallas Stars Foundation focuses its efforts on providing support to the children of the community so they may lead quality lives and develop into contributing members of society. Through teamwork, interaction, and education, the Dallas Stars Foundation works to bring together all members of the Metroplex and build a bright future for today's youth.

Park Place Dealerships was founded in 1987 by Ken Schnitzer with a single Mercedes-Benz dealership on Oak Lawn. Celebrating 25 years of "Experts in Excellence," today Park Place Dealerships operates 16 full-service dealerships representing Bentley, Jaguar, Lexus, Lotus, Maserati, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, smart, Volvo and Rolls-Royce. In addition, the dealership group includes two Park Place Bodywerks locations. For more information about Park Place Dealerships, visit parkplace.com.