With Andre Reed as its special guest, Queen of Hearts Casino Night is betting on something bigger than a jackpot: giving young athletes the opportunity to discover what they can become.
There is a particular kind of generosity that does more than write a check. It looks at a young person with talent, ambition and potential and says: You should not have to sit this one out because your family cannot afford it.
That idea sits at the heart of Good People Deserve Wins Too, a Rochester initiative that helps young athletes whose families cannot afford the increasingly expensive costs of playing competitive sports, from registration and equipment to travel and other expenses.
On February 5, 2027, that mission will take over Harro East Ballroom for the fifth annual Queen of Hearts Casino Night, an event designed to be as much about celebration and connection as fundraising. This year’s evening will feature a particularly familiar face to Western New York sports fans: Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Reed, the former Buffalo Bills receiver whose career made him one of the defining figures of the team’s Super Bowl era.
For Stephanie Armstrong, co-founder of Moxie Creative Studios, along with Rubi Rodriguez. She is also the creative force behind Queen of Hearts.
Bringing Reed into the room is about more than celebrity. It is about reminding people what is possible.
“Who knows what greatness can exist in a kid?” Armstrong says.
That question may be the simplest way to understand the entire evening.
From Poverty to the Playing Field
Armstrong does not talk about sports as an abstract extracurricular activity. She talks about it as something that changed the trajectory of her own life.
She grew up in extreme poverty and describes herself as a troubled kid who needed somewhere to put her energy. Sports became that place.
“It was medicine,” she says.
Weightlifting remains part of her life today. But the lasting influence was not simply the physical discipline of athletics. It was the adults who saw something in her before she necessarily saw it in herself.
She remembers coaches who believed in her, gave her rides, helped her get cleats and provided the kind of discipline and encouragement that can become transformative for a young person.
“I am the kid we serve,” Armstrong says.
That connection is important because the mission of Good People Deserve Wins Too is not merely about getting kids onto a playing field. It is about recognizing how much can happen once they get there.
For some young people, sports provide structure. For others, they provide mentors, friendships and a sense of belonging. And for some, athletics can become a pathway to higher education and opportunities that might otherwise remain out of reach.
The cost of entry, however, keeps rising.
And sometimes the difference between a young athlete continuing and stopping is not talent but money.
A Party With a Purpose
Queen of Hearts deliberately avoids the feel of a traditional fundraising dinner.
There will be casino tables, entertainment, food, drinks, photo opportunities and music from Uptown Groove. The evening will be designed as an immersive experience rather than a room full of people listening to speeches and waiting for the check presentation.
But Armstrong is adamant that the mission cannot disappear beneath the spectacle.
That is why the evening begins by putting the young people the event supports back at the center of the room.
Many of the athletes receiving assistance remain anonymous unless they choose to be publicly identified. Armstrong says that decision is intentional. There is something uncomfortable about turning a young person’s financial hardship into a public spectacle, even when the intention is charitable.
The organization wants to help without making young people feel like charity cases.
Coaches often become the bridge between the organization and families who need assistance. They know which athletes are struggling to afford registration, equipment or travel. They know who has talent but may be forced to step away because the costs have become too high.
And the results can extend far beyond one season.
Armstrong points to one Rochester athlete who received support and eventually made it to the Olympics.
The larger question, she says, is how many other young people might be capable of extraordinary things if their communities simply give them a chance.
Why Andre Reed Matters
For Western New York, the presence of Andre Reed adds another layer to that question.
Reed is not merely a recognizable former athlete. He represents a particular chapter of Buffalo sports history and the emotional loyalty that still surrounds the Bills.
For Armstrong, that makes him an ideal guest.
“We are in Buffalo Bills turf,” she says.
But there is something more meaningful beneath the fandom.
Reed’s career is a reminder that the person sitting in front of you today may eventually become someone you never could have imagined.
And that makes giving young athletes an opportunity a kind of investment in an unknown future.
Armstrong is particularly interested in the educational dimension of sports. She has watched young people use athletics as a pathway to continue their education, opening doors to careers that have little to do with professional sports.
Maybe the next athlete supported by Good People Deserve Wins Too becomes a professional football player. Maybe she becomes a doctor. Maybe he goes into technology. The point is that nobody knows.
“You have no idea what greatness can exist in a kid,” Armstrong says.
That is also why Reed’s involvement feels bigger than a celebrity appearance. His presence connects the glamorous world of professional sports with the much less glamorous question of how young people get their first real opportunity.
The High Roller Lounge
There is, naturally, a high-roller component to a casino night.
Queen of Hearts will have an exclusive High Roller Lounge with limited seating, where guests will have the opportunity to spend the evening with Reed in a more intimate setting.
The lounge will include private gaming, food and beverages, storytelling, photographs and video opportunities. Reed will be there throughout the evening.
Armstrong describes it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Bills fans.
But it also serves a practical purpose: creating experiences people genuinely want to pay for while directing that enthusiasm toward a community need.
That balance is central to Armstrong’s approach.
She does not describe herself as an event planner. She describes herself as someone interested in creating experiences with intention.
For her, that means thinking about all the senses involved in an experience—what people see, hear, smell, taste and remember.
The goal is not simply to fill a ballroom but to create a night people talk about afterward.
And, ideally, return to the following year.
What Counts as a Win?
Armstrong has a straightforward way of measuring whether Queen of Hearts succeeds. It is not how impressive the ballroom looks. It is not how many celebrities attend. It is the number of young people the event can help.
She estimates that supporting one young athlete can cost roughly $1,000 when registration, equipment and travel are taken into consideration. A $100,000 fundraising goal could therefore translate into assistance for approximately 100 young athletes.
That is the number that ultimately matters. How many kids get to keep playing? How many get to travel with their team? How many get the equipment they need? How many remain connected to the coaches and teammates who might help shape the rest of their lives?
Armstrong also wants something less measurable for the people attending.
She wants them to have fun.
After years of anxiety, division and uncertainty, she says, people need opportunities to come together in a safe environment with others who care about their community.
That may sound like a small thing.
It isn’t.
One of the most interesting ideas behind Queen of Hearts is that community itself can become part of the philanthropy. People who might never otherwise cross paths can find themselves sharing a table, a game or a conversation.
A professional athlete. A local business owner. A coach. A parent. A philanthropist. A fan.
Different lives, different experiences, but potentially the same desire to see a young person get a fair shot.
The Next Andre Reed
Western New York knows what a sports hero looks like.
But Queen of Hearts asks a more interesting question: What does it take to create one?
The answer may have less to do with stadiums and million-dollar contracts than with the people who show up earlier in the story. The coach who notices a kid’s potential. The person who buys the cleats. The teammate who keeps someone connected. The donor who covers the registration fee. The community that decides a talented young athlete should not be forced to quit because their family is struggling.
Armstrong knows this personally.
She remembers the people who intervened in her own life when she was growing up in poverty. She remembers their faces and their names. She remembers the discipline and belief they gave her.
Now she sees Queen of Hearts as one way of honoring that investment.
For one night, there will be casino tables, music, lights, entertainment and one of the most beloved figures in Buffalo sports history.
But underneath all of it is a much simpler wager.
That good people deserve wins, too.
And sometimes giving a kid the chance to play is the first win that makes all the others possible.
Queen of Hearts Casino Night 2027 takes place February 5, 2027, at Harro East Ballroom in Rochester.
Click here to learn more, and to purchase tickets.