Barnesville Hospital staff involved in the planning of the Vegas of the Ville fundraiser include, from left, Dave Phillips, Dave Hacker, Melissa Phillips, Susan Redish, Becky Cline, Lindsey Dowdle and Donna White. T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA

BARNESVILLE — WVU Medicine Barnesville Hospital hosted its inaugural Vegas in the Ville fundraiser on Saturday night, bringing casino-style fun and games to the local area.

The fundraiser took place at Shepherd Barn and Event Center in Bethesda. According to the organizers of Saturday night’s event, the hospital plans to make the Vegas in the Ville fundraiser an annual event.

The event was based around Vegas-style gaming tables that were provided by Elite Casino Events. Multiple poker, roulette and blackjack tables were set up and included in the price of entry was $500 worth of gambling chips. The fundraiser also included a cash bar, appetizers, auction, tip boards and multiple raffles. Live music was also provided by Ohio Valley’s own Eli and the Mojo Kings.

Hospital President and CEO Dave Phillips said, “We wanted to do a signature event for the event as a fundraiser for the hospital. We wanted to do something different and unique that wasn’t something that everyone was doing, which led us to our Vegas in the Ville night.”

While speaking on the planning of the fundraiser, Phillips said the event had been in the works for roughly six months.

All of the proceeds from Saturday’s fundraiser will be going to the ProCuity Stryker Bed Project. The goal of the project is to replace 22 of the hospital’s current inpatient beds.

“We’ve been fundraising for this event and then we have been writing grants to try to receive additional funding,” Marketing Strategist Lindsey Dowdle said.

“Even though we’re part of WVU Medicine, all of the hospitals within the organization are responsible for their own expenses,” Phillips said. “Not only do we deal with what we do from our day-to-day operations but we also do things like this from a fundraising standpoint to replace equipment.”

The fundraiser had two personal sponsors. The High Roller Sponsor was Union Local graduate and current San Francisco 49ers tackle Colton Mckivitz. Another personal sponsor of the event was Dr. Russell Lee-Wood, who was the Full House Sponsor. A few more of the many notable sponsors of the inaugural Vegas in the Ville Fundraiser were: Vision 1 Flooring, The Flower Gardens, Belmont Savings Bank, Joe’s Tire, Woodsfield Savings Bank, Campbell Plumly Milburn Funeral Home, Barnesville Hospital Auxiliary and William Knox, CPA.