Bam, Crack, Stop Cancer reaches capacity in Dallas ahead of game night

Eight days before the first tile is turned, the third annual Bam, Crack, Stop Cancer evening in Dallas has run out of room. The ticket page for the night now reads that the venue has reached maximum capacity, and only purchases that bring no extra guests can still be made.

The evening belongs to Children's Cancer Fund, a Dallas nonprofit that raises money for children with cancer in North Texas. It is set for Thursday, November 12, at Royal Oaks Country Club on Greenville Avenue, according to the fund's own event calendar. Check in and the bar open at six o'clock, and play runs from half past six until nine.

Amy Marable and Lauren Moorse are the co-chairs, per the event page. Most of the sponsorship levels, from the presenting sponsor down to the valet, are marked sold out.

A table of four, and a raffle ticket for every win

The format is friendly by design. The organizers say plainly that this is not a tournament. Instead, guests play as many games as time allows at their own table, and the winner of each game earns a raffle ticket toward prizes. The fund has invited donations of gift cards, experiences and specialty items for that raffle.

A table of four was priced at $1,000, per the ticket page, and that included light bites, an open bar and everything needed to play. A set of blanks for the whole table was offered for $100, sold in advance only. Guests who do not play could buy a $100 spectator ticket that covers food, drinks and other games.

Guests do not need to bring a thing. The event page says the tiles, racks and cards will be provided by Bam Bird Boutique and The Big Card, an American Mahjong card. OOTT is not affiliated with either, and does not sell sets or cards.

Where the money goes

Children's Cancer Fund was started in 1982 by a group of parents whose children were being treated for cancer at Children's Medical Center, according to the fund's history page. It describes itself as closely tied to Children's Medical Center and UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Its results page says the fund has donated $15 million to pediatric cancer research and care in Dallas. The same page lists what that money has paid for: research at UT Southwestern and Children's Health, a full time Child Life Specialist, a $1 million endowment for Child Life Services at the Gill Center, and a $2.5 million commitment to the Dallas Pediatric Campus. It also funds mental health support, social work, bereavement care, and art, music and pet therapy for young patients and their families.

The mahjong night sits on a calendar that also carries the fund's spring gala and a golf classic. Three years in, the tiles have earned their own evening on that list.

“Children's Cancer Fund champions kids in their fight against cancer.”Children's Cancer Fund

Prim's view

In my opinion, the smartest choice here is the one that sounds smallest: no tournament. A tournament sorts a room into winners and everyone else. Games per table, with a raffle ticket for each win, keeps every seat in the evening until the last hand, and keeps the conversation going between hands. That is exactly the kind of table where a cause gets talked about.

I also admire that the organizers provide everything, down to the racks. A guest who has never owned a set can still sit down and play for a child she will never meet. That is mahjong at its most generous.

If you missed a seat this year, the fund's calendar is the place to watch for the fourth. And if you cannot play, a raffle donation still counts.