Poker Playing for Africa

No one likes a good poker game more than a professional poker player, but add a good cause on to it and you have truly got yourself a winner of a deal. Celebrities, professional poker players, officials of all kinds will flock to a poker game that benefits someone other than themselves.

Don Cheadle and Annie Duke put together a poker game at the World Series of Poker to benefit the Darfur refugees in the Sudanese crisis. The “Ante Up for Africa” tournament event was held at the WSOP and brought in a half a million dollars for the cause.

More than 160 players signed up for the event, with many of them being celebrities. They also brought in their share of poker professionals who were working hard to bring in money for a pocket other than their own. They had Ben Affleck, Jason Alexander, Hank Azaria, Charles Barkley, Andy Bloch, Justin Bonomo, Doyle Brunson, Matt Damon, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Brad Garrett, Jamie Gold, Barry Greenstein, Willie Garson, Joe Hachem, Phil Hellmuth, Howard Lederer, Mekhi Phifer, Adam Sandler, Katja Thater and Jennifer Traniello – along with more than 130 others.

Each entrant paid $5,000 for their buy-in, and the money was paid out to 18 players. The main prize was $243,893 and the lowest prize was $8,928. The winners of the event, Brandon Moran and Dan Shak gave up their winner rewards as well, so that money went back to the refugees. The money went to the Enough Project and the International Rescue Committee.

 

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