Tickets are now on sale for Mount Airy Museum of Regional History’s annual Casino Royale that will be held on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Cross Creek Country Club.

“This is our big fund raising event for the year. Our board decided that we wanted to focus on one big fund raising event instead of intermediate-sized events. I say that because I don’t consider the parties that he have as fundraisers,” said Matt Edwards, executive director for the museum.

There will be draw-down tickets this year. Those tickets are $100. Those who purchase a draw-down tickets will pay $40 for admission. The prize will be $6,000. Event tickets are $65 per person. That includes dinner, drinks and casino-style gaming.

He said guests will use play money for the gaming part of the evening.

“You don’t have to know how to gamble. If you don’t know how to gamble, they will teach you how to do it,” said Edwards. “If nothing else, if you are planning a trip to Las Vegas or Harrah’s this is a great chance to learn how to do it.”

He said the top-gaming winner for the night will get a free draw-down ticket.

There will be a silent auction at the event as well.

“We’ve got a tremendous palette of things for the auction this year ranging from iPads to a vacation home rental outside the doors of Disney World and GPS units,” said Edwards.

He said ticket sales are going well, but typically he sees an increase in tickets sales the final week before the event.

“It was a great event last year,” said Edwards.

He said there were 135 people at last year’s event. He is expecting more than 200 to attend this year.

The attire is flexible, he said.

“The planning committee will be decked out in tuxedos and the like. This month is also the 50th anniversary of James Bond. Tuxedos are certainly not a requirement. We will have people in everything from knit shirts and khakis to Sunday-go-to-meeting attire.”

There will also be a Bond-girl look-alike contest this year.

“We really want people to have fun with this. The options are wide open,” said Edwards.

Draw-down tickets can be purchased ahead of time and the winner does not need to be present. There are only 300 draw-down tickets.

Contact the museum for more information and to purchase tickets at 786-4478.

Reach Mondee Tilley at mtilley@heartlandpublications.com or at 719-1930.