2010 WSOP Party Week Begins

2010 WSOB with Tiffany

2010 WSOB with Tiffany. Pic courtesy BJ Nemeth and his iPhone4.

Last night, the 2010 World Series of Barbecue kicked off WSOP party week.  ”This is like poker’s Oscar week” joked Joe Sebok.  Once again, Howard and Suzie Lederer hosted the WSOB Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament at the Golden Nugget pool last night benefiting the Boys and Girls Club.  Without a doubt, this is always one of the best parties at the WSOP.  The tournament is inside the casino, so the pool party is family-friendly with Karaoke, a water slide zipping through a shark tank and ending with fireworks.  The WSOB charity event is an escape from the worn-out bitter faces at the Rio and reminds us that there are far worse places to be on this planet than six weeks at a poker tournament.

We missed Gavin Smith singing Sweet Caroline this year because he was playing Event #56 but it didn’t matter…it was impossible for Smith to win this year’s WSOB Karaoke bracelet because Joe Reitman sang and danced Beyonce’s Put A Ring On It wearing only a black leotard.  The video should be on WCP soon.  Ah, the WSOB is good stuff, good times, good for poker and good for black  leotard dancers around the world.

Today, Annie Duke and Don Cheadle host their annual Ante Up for Africa tournament at the Rio helping Africans in need.  Help Ante Up for Africa raise 10K before the WSOP Main Event here.

By the way, here’s a pic of JOE Reitman and I taken by BJ Nemeth and his new iPhone4.  To my knowledge, Reitman never goes by the name Jeff.

Hoop It Up Barkley Antes Up for Africa

CHARLES BARKLEY BY MICHELE LEWIS ANTE UP

CHARLES BARKLEY BY MICHELE LEWIS ANTE UPHey, remember last year when I asked Charles Barkley how he felt about his mother calling him a mama’s boy on HBO?  Yeah, that was awesome.  And remember when I said I was watching Barkley play some basketball in a Las Vegas hotel room?  Yeah, that was awesome.

Well, today Barkley was in Las Vegas being more awesome by supporting Annie Duke’s and Don Cheadle’s Ante Up for Africa tournament at the WSOP.  This marks Ante Up’s 3rd year in raising awareness funds for the Darfur victims who suffer far more than most of us.

Big names hitting the red carpet was the usual supporters Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Alexander, Hershel Walker, Brad Garrett, Cedric the Entertainer, Sarah Silverman and Montel Williams.

To remember or understand why I said that was awesome, see video below.  To help some people who aren’t as lucky as us to have food and shelter click here.

Texas Charity Poker Iffy

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houston-to-new-orleansLeave it to Pokerati Dan to have more scoop on the latest legalization of poker in Texas.  He posted today on the legalization of charity events, which has always been vague on… “can we? or can’t we have this tournament?”  Charity events are a nice way to play poker while helping others at the same time.  Unfortunately, Texas Hold’em is only legal if it’s played in a private setting without a rake and blah, blah, blah something about alcohol.

Seems to me, it would be horrible for charities to raise funds to help cancer patients survive simply because:

1.  players might cheat in a charity poker tournament.

2. Texas charity poker tournaments might reduce money traveling to Louisiana casinos.

3.  poker tournament winners might not have to pay taxes on a prize after charity write-off.

4.  players might make a decision with their own brain to play a poker charity event with income they’ve earned.

5. charity poker tournaments might cause the government to form a new commission or W-Whatever form to regulate such events when it would make more sense to spend more money trying to prevent it from happening.

6.  Charity poker tournaments might send all gala/ball guests to hell.

7.  legalization of such events may reduce campaign contributions.

8.  Multi-Millionares may go broke after playing in a 300 – 500 buy-in charity poker tournament.

9.  It’s far better for poker players to play in underground games risking legal problems, gun-shot wounds, cheating and high rakes because if they play poker then that’s the life they deserve.

Erick Lindgren Hosts Leukemia & Lymphoma Event

Most people who watched Erick Lindgren on ESPN's WSOP coverage probably thought "hmmm, he seems like a really nice guy."  Sorry, but that's not exactly true.  Turns out Erick "sweet little puppy" Lindgren is actually a really, really, really nice guy. 

Lindgren will be hosting a charity poker event on FullTilt on December 3rd for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society/Southern Nevada in honor of the late Mindy Trinidad (check the private tab, password is charity). 

Trinidad made the final table at the 2007 WSOP Ladies Event.  However, the wife and mother of two lost her battle against Leukemia last month.  She was just diagnosed two months before.   
 
My heart goes out to the Trinidad family. And special thanks to Lisa Wheeler for sending the info and for all the other reminders of how grateful we should be.

Ante Up for Africa with Hot Guys Who Care

ben-affleck-matt-damon-annie-duke-joe-reitman

andy-bloch-phil-laak-ante-up-for-africa2The Ante Up for Africa charity event at the WSOP is in full swing down the hallway.  Hosted by Don Cheadle and Annie Duke, the event attracted top poker pros and celebrities raising funds for the ongoing crisis in Darfur.  Playing today are pros such as Andy Bloch, Phil Laak, Rafe Furst and Howard Lederer (photo above).  As well as Duke, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jason Alexander, Montel Williams and Joe Reitman (photo below).

ben-affleck-matt-damon-annie-duke-joe-reitman

Obviously, it’s wonderful for any charity to help those in need but it should be mentioned that it’s always nice to see selfless acts within the poker community.  Yep, apparently their are people who care more about people having some food this week rather than having 42 pairs of shoes instead of 41.  Who knew?

It should be noted that I had a difficult time getting a good shot of the Duke posse and the larger photo at the top is not a result of picking guys over gals.

Updates: WSOB & Budding Ivey Foundation Hook Up & Stud

Every year at the WSOP Steve Z and Howard & Suzie Lederer host the World Series of Barbecue party.  However, this year they have teamed up with the Budding Ivey Foundation for a charity poker tournament at the Golden Nugget.  They will be raising funds to help re-open the Empowered 3 Excel Academy.  More info and quote by Phil Ivey on MSNBC.

Stud of Poker is temporarily in limbo…

More Phil Ivey News

This year at the WSOP, the winner of the rumor race goes to…Phil Ivey. First there was a rumor about the Ladies Event due to a rumor about a bracelet bet which was accessorized with a $2 million Laker bet.

But here’s the best one…and it seems official.  Last weekend, Ivey visited the Las Vegas Salvation Army on behalf of the Budding Ivey Foundation.  Not only did he make an undisclosed donation to the International Reach and Teach Institute but he also helped distribute 150 food packages.  Despite the mystery dollar sign, Co-founder John Currie said:

“We’ve been feeding about 150 people per week. But because of Ivey’s recent generosity, we’ll be able to increase that number by more than 300 percent over the next several weeks.”

It’s always so nice to see people make monetary contributions to charities; however, even better is the person who puts in some time.

Poker For The Cure

I’m bummed I will miss the WPT Ladies event this weekend at Legends.  I had anticipated playing this tournament all year but it just snuck up quickly.  I’ve been so busy with my family life that I forgot to plan for this event.  It’s a great event for several reasons:

  1. It raises money for The Susan G. Komen Foundation.
  2. Winner wins a seat on WPT Ladies Night.
  3. It’s a 1k ladies event which are few and far between.

It’s this weekend at The Bicycle CasinoLegends. Good luck to my lady friends that will be playing including defending champ and expecting JJ Liu. I have an ice cream school social on Sunday but I’ll be thinking of you.