Poker Players Step Out for Darfur Africa
People all over the world have fallen in love with poker, some being very rich and influential celebrities who hold a special place in their hearts for Darfur, Africa. In response, Annie Duke and Don Cheadle hosted the second annual Ante up for Africa tournament. All the proceeds were to go to help he people of Darfur, showing just what the poker community is made of. In addition to supporting the survivors of Darfur, an event like this helps bring awareness to those who would otherwise never know about the suffering in remote places of the world like Darfur.
Duke and Cheadle were the backbone behind this event. The tournament was held at the Rio in the Amazon Room during the WSOP and required a mere $5,000 buy-in. The event was so successful, it actually made the cut on ESPN and was aired for the first time this year. Since this was a charity event, the tournament not only attracted some of the top world class poker players, but many Hollywood stars as well.
“Everybody Loves Ramon” star Brad Garrett was the first to step out onto the red carpet and then it was on. He was followed by the likes of Jennifer Tilly, Cedric the Entertainer, Charles Barkley, Dean Cain and Jason Alexander, and the list goes on. Then came the poker pros, Phil Hellmuth, Barry Greenstein, Andy Bloch, and Peter Eastgate, among other, who were all more than willing to share the limelight with the Hollywood stars.
Later ladies started going crazy for the arrival of Ben Afflack and Matt Damon. Even Mike Tyson made an appearance. But the most excited group were the fans who showed up to get a glimpse of their favorite stars. It really shows what our nation is made of when so many people can come together to help people across the world. There is no value on our freedom, but we’re willing to help others obtain it, and poker definitely makes money!