One of my favorite charity tourneys of the year is this Saturday — Operation All In … Randy Couture’s  poker tournament and charity auction benefitting his Xtreme Couture GI Foundation. Karina Jett hosts the event, so you can expect her usual brand of fun and merry band of Full Tilt Red Pros in exile. And because OAI is more MMAish than pokery … well, let’s just say you can be sure to see some rather douchetastic! unique table interaction. And with a reasonable buy-in ($220 w $100 rebuys), you stand to get a fair share of genuine downtown tourists, too — excited by their chance to play with the fighters more so than the poker pros.

The winner gets $10k in cold American cash this year, too … no fancy qualifiers for some future maybe-cool new event in some other country. And though I haven’t personally looked into how legit Randy Couture’s foundation is, I do get a sense he takes the effort kinda personally and isn’t going to let the funds raised here get squandered en route to the beneficiaries. For many soldiers, the war isn’t over just because they are starting to come home.

It’s been an interesting relationship in Vegas between mixed martial arts and poker over the past 12 or so years … the state of which will be on display in the form of tax-deductible feelgood poker … this weekend at the Golden Nugget.

Read below for official deets on what’s going down.

MMA Star Randy “The Natural” Couture Hosts 
Charity Poker Tournament at the Golden Nugget
“Operation All In” to raise money for Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation

LAS VEGAS – Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy “The Natural” Couture will host his fourth annual “Operation All In” poker tournament and charity auction benefiting the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas, Saturday, Jan. 14 starting at 2 p.m.

This event, held in The Grand events center, is open to the public and will feature a celebrity charity poker tournament, live and silent auctions, autograph sessions with photo opportunities and raffle prizes while giving back to injured troops.

“Operation All In” will welcome professional celebrity poker players and stars from the MMA world and Hollywood to play alongside the public in its charity poker tournament, where several great prizes will be awarded along with the grand prize of $10,000 cash. The buy-in for “Operation All In” at the Golden Nugget is $220 with $100 multi re-buys.

MMA fighters confirmed to attend include Randy Couture, Clay Guida, Cung Le, John Alessio, Martin Kampmann, Jay Hieron, John Gunderson, Brad Tavares, Tyson Griffin, Ryan Couture and Frank Trigg. Celebrities will also partake in the action, and those confirmed to attend include David Zayas, Shanna Moakler, JJ Lui, TJ Lavin and Lon Maccaren from ESPN. Other fighters and poker pros are expected to confirm attendance as the event nears.

Ultimate Fighting Champion Couture, a veteran himself of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, started the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation to raise money and awareness for troops wounded in action and their families. After visiting with amputees at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Couture was brought to tears seeing the young men and women who had given their all for freedom, young heroes who now have to go through life’s challenges with devastating physical and emotional injuries. The Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation goal is to help these brave men and women fulfill any of their unmet needs as they return back to civilian life.

A highlight of the event will be both the silent auction, with an amazing array of MMA memorabilia up for grabs, and the live auction which includes some items donated personally by Couture, such as dinner with the fighter and a one-hour personal MMA lesson. In addition to Couture, other MMA fighters will be on hand throughout the evening for photos and autographs with tournament players and fans.

“Operation All In” is sponsored by the contributions of its great supporters including Microtech, Oakley, Xtreme Couture MMA, Deepstacks, Lord Griffon, Clear Channel & Golden Nugget.

Seats are limited, so reserve your spot today by stopping by or calling the Golden Nugget Poker Room at (800) 777-4658, ext. 8164 or locally (702) 386-8383, or emailing poker@goldennugget.com to pre-register. Players will also be able to register for the tournament at the event. For more information visit www.xcgif.org.  or www.goldennugget.com.

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ABOUT GOLDEN NUGGET LAS VEGAS

Winner of the AAA Four Diamond Award consecutively since 1977, the Golden Nugget Las Vegas is the most luxurious resort on the Fremont Street Experience, and consistently receives critical acclaim for exceeding customer expectations. The Golden Nugget now offers more than 2,400 deluxe guestrooms and suites; a high-energy casino featuring the most popular slot and video poker machines, table games, race and sports book, and poker room; nightly entertainment with master impressionist and comedian Gordie Brown; world-class restaurants such as Grotto Italian Ristorante and Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse; a luxury spa and salon; and The Tank, a year-round outdoor swimming pool complete with a 200,000-gallon, live shark aquarium and the new H20 poolside lounge. Since 2005, the Golden Nugget Las Vegas has made more than $180 million in upgrades, renovations and expansions under Landry’s Inc, introducing first-class accommodations, exquisite dining options and fun-filled entertainment venues. In late 2009, the Golden Nugget Las Vegas unveiled its newest addition, Rush Tower. This $150-million hotel tower added nearly 500 new guestrooms and suites to the property, brought Las Vegas it’s first Chart House Restaurant and introduced a beautiful new pool, the Hideout, as well as expanded the gaming. Hotel reservations and additional information are available by calling 800-634-3454 or by visiting online at www.goldennugget.com.

ABOUT XTREME COUTURE GI FOUNDATION
The Xtreme Couture GI Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation, was founded by Randy Couture to honor the veterans of America’s armed forces. The foundation was especially formed to raise money and awareness for those wounded in action and their families. To date, more than 24,000 U.S. troops have been wounded in the war against terrorism, which doesn’t include the many more suffering the mental effects. The Xtreme Couture GI Foundation goal is to help these brave men and women fulfill any of their unmet needs as they return back to civilian life. Visit http://www.xtremecouturegifoundation.org/ for more information.

The event comes with the Duke fully recovered from multiple broken bones and flesh wounds suffered in a violent robbery in August 2010. The trial against his accused assailants was supposed to start this week — just down the street from the Nugget — but was delayed on Monday.

Who: The Duke of Fremont presents “Pinstripes & Polka Dots”
What: $100 NLH (w $20 rebuys)
When: Friday, Oct 28, 6pm (red carpet cocktails begin at 5pm)
Where: Golden Nugget, Downtown Las Vegas
Why: Fundraiser for Clark County Museum Guild

With or without a verdict, perfect way to kick off the Halloween weekend, no? I like the small buy-in (and rebuys) and probability that I might feel young again as one of the “youngsters” in attendance … not to mention my curiosity about Vegas fundraiser tournaments devoid of Full Tilt swag and ironically titled “Howard Lederer Tells All” DVDs.

The theme is “Vintage Vegas” (shocker) … and while there is a costume contest with additional prizes, attendees are simply asked to “dress appropriately”. When I invited Dr. Pokerati to join me at the event, she wanted to know, obv, what to wear. “I think they’re going for 1940s-50s slutty”, I said via text … to which she responded, “k”.

More info about the tournament beneficiary here, and you can follow the Duke of Fremont on Twitter here.

A little poker gossip because sometimes in serious times we like the petty …

Melanie Iglesias vs. WPT (and QuadJacks?)
The guys at Quadjacks have called it “Flushgate” — and reportedly have received quite a bit of wrath from non-poker types over “the abrupt resignation of three Royal Flush girls” — 2010 Maxim Hometown Hottie winner and now MTV personality Melanie Iglesias, Michelle Banzer, and brand spankin’ new RF girl Mica Javier, who had only been on the job for a few weeks. The purging all went down last month right around the time of press announcements for the World Poker Tour’s new Season X … ooh, juicy! You could almost be certain somebody was gonna cry, if not more formally cry foul.

Catpacking in AC
We can only imagine how cut-throat that world can be — where looks absolutely are tied in with your success. Call us old-school here at Pokerati, Melanie is great and all, but she’s still no Lacey Jones, who recently did a lingerie photoshoot with power-model Katerina Van Derham. Meanwhile, here’s a new video featuring Lacey and Maria Ho helping Christina Lindley pick out a dress for her birthday party at the Borgata in Atlantic City this weekend … and New Jersey celeb-hunter Michael Berman interviews this threesome, being dubbed “the Cat Pack” here for the kickoff of WPT Borgata, where there may or may not be openings for three new Royal Flush Girls.

Auction Player?
Speaking of old school, Phil Hellmuth appeared last week on the A&E show Storage Wars — advising a group about strategy in their game of swag auctions, which apparently involves a combination of luck and skill. Not too familiar with that show … when do we get to hear someone say to Phil, “Going, going, gone!?”

Dealer’s Choice: From Poker to Pot
A relatively unknown poker player named Jim Rice is representing poker (whether he likes it or not) and pot on Survivor 23: South Pacific. Supposedly a pal (and business partner?) of Paul Wasicka’s, the 35-year-old from Chicago is now a medical marijuana dispenser in Colorado (woot!). His most recent cashes include a 3rd and a 23rd on the Heartland Poker Tour, this year and in 2008, respectively. And now with online poker more illegal than selling weed (in some US jurisdictions) … makes you wonder if certain poker pros would rather be Jim Rice or Jean-Robert Bellande.

Jack Black Rising or Falling Poker Celebrity?
There’s always new Hollywood celebrities getting in on poker — and hosting a charity tourney is often their first foray into niche hero-status and/or business opportunity around their personal poker addictions. Could Jack Black be the latest? The last-place finisher in the WPT’s 2009 Hollywood home game is hosting a charity tourney next month at the Commerce Casino in California, but otherwise still has much to prove before he becomes the next James Woods, whom you may recall back in 2004-05 kicked off his effort to become the Adam West of Poker.

Vegas Living: Closing Down Blush
The luxe but laid-back “boutique” nightclub Blush, at the Wynn, is closing after a four-year run. Ahhh … I remember this “ultra lounge” as the site of multiple VIP poker parties and the place where upon moving to Vegas I met a guy who explained to me the process of importing women to the US for a life of hooker-dom before having to excuse himself to go sell coke. But perhaps more famously, Blush is the place where Antonio Esfandiari “lost” a game of who’s got bigger ballers to Kobe Bryant — with the NBA star supposedly racking up a $21,000 champagne bill that had celebrity and sports media mocking some poker player being called “the magician” … even though he somehow got Kobe to pay for the last 15 bottles of Cristal.

Meanwhile, @KobeBryant’s Twitter account got suspended last week, and @MagicAntonio’s, who had a surprisingly similar number of followers, did not.

There have already been events in Arizona and yesterday here in Vegas at the Venetian. Coming up are an event Monday at the Golden Nugget and another at the new Tropicana Poker Room (which fyi, few know, had its opening day on Black Friday) on Saturday. More than 15 events — in the $60 to $125 range — in 15 different venues in seven states.

Click here for the complete schedule.

Our goal is to disperse the highest percentage of funds possible to the charities. While some fundraising operators are actually businesses for profit, Poker Gives is designed to give back and we do so in every way possible. Board members and founding members of Poker Gives receive no salary whatsoever. All expenses and administrative costs are minimized so that the maximum is directed to our charities.

– Poker Gives

Charity tournaments can be a dime a dozen … or more appropriately for poker, probably closer to 5 dimes a dozen. And some are better than others as an event and/or as a fundraiser. But apparently some big-timers in the poker biz (Mike Sexton, Linda Johnson, et al) saw too many such tourneys used as fronts for shady activities I mean not necessarily distributing funds appropriately, and thus back in 2008 created Poker Gives. It’s an effort designed to cultivate the collective giving of poker players and poker rooms around the country to make more notable donations to more mainstream 501c’s (Paralyzed Veterans of America, Make a Wish, Special Olympics, the USO, the Shriners, among others). It also becomes, imho, part of what some say is becoming a “movement” to clean up poker and make it more, er … presentable?

Also this week, as in today, is an Epic Poker charity event at Pokerati’s home room, the Palms. It’s a $240 with $100 rebuys event — hosted by Kevin Pollak, with all sorts of extra goodies overlayed — and the top three winning seats to the upcoming $1,500 Epic Pro-Am.

While this isn’t officially part of National Poker Month (I’m curious why not, too) tonight’s tournament at the Palms does benefit Fallen Heroes USA, a PG thumbs-up charity partner. Should be good times for a good cause; and who knows, maybe a Pokerati Game will break out with extra players in the mood to just be giving money away?

OK, the links:

G2E Asia — the AGA brings its trade show to Macau, prepping Western gaming industry round-eyes for a new level of expansion in China and across Asia.

PokerGrump — an accidental low-stakes Vegas grinder, respected colleague on the license plate beat, and another guy I read often but don’t link up enough … generally thoughtful insight, and fun “guess the casino” posts, though few are as hard as this one:

highlight for answer

Mandalay Bay

PokerGives.org — Mike Sexton, Linda Johnson, and Jan Fisher’s philanthropic endeavor has undergone a website redesign as they continue efforts to make sure charity poker tournaments give back as much as possible.

DFW Gambler — don’t know who runs this site, but it kinda-sorta picks up where Pokerati left off upon skipping town, keeping the Dallas/Fort Worth poker scene up to date with solid, regularly updated info on local charity tourneys, big events in Oklahoma and Louisiana, and different free games — whether they be WPT Amateur Leagues or lesbian bar poker at Sue Ellen’s. Bingo, too!

The Poker Life Coach — Jen Dunphy was once responsible for keeping Harrah’s employees on their A-game, and now brings her motivational services to MGM Resorts. Not sure if she’s more happy drill sergeant or corporate therapist … but for poker players needing to work on their life skills (she won’t give up names of clients? Balls!) it seems she’s no Sam Chauhan … but then again, she’s also no Sam Chauhan.

Live Poker Training — Not sure if Shaun Deeb needs a life coach or just a mom. But either way, he’s got a boot camp March 26-27 … for players wanting to learn how to win so much money it doesn’t matter if you never learned to throw away pizza boxes or lift the toilet seat.

Zynga PokerCon 2011 — you know they are new to poker when they call their inaugural event Poker CON. But the best we can tell, even though the folks at Zynga supposedly have made millions without paying out any winners, they aren’t the second coming of UB … but they could well be proof that recreational players are more valuable than online pros. And they’ve hired me (along with Michele Lewis and BJ Nemeth) to tell you all about the Zynga version of BARGE — so already we think they’re great, obv!

Allied Service

Suited Cribs — The guys to handle your WSOP housing needs, and all variety of poker services, from laundry runs and VIP transportation to nightclub line passes. Say you heard about them from Pokerati for a special surprise AND to have me personally check out your summertime Vegas rental to make sure the internet works and no pillows smell like urine.

It’s not that Darvin’s trying to welch — in fact I’m pretty sure he’s already handed over chips to HPT executives — but this man won half of Darvin’s action in a charity raffle and apparently skedaddled off before filling out his contact info form. Moon finished in 37th place, for a $1,487 score.

It was an $1,100 event, so not sure if the 50 percent of Darvin’s payday that mystery dude’s got coming is gross or net. Also not sure who gets the extra dollar. But regardless, if anyone recognizes or knows this guy and/or his lady friend … there’s either $194 or $744 somewhere with no name on it waiting for them.

BTW, it seems those friendly Fargoans (Fargoers? Fargocites?) might be getting sick of 20-foot snow tsunamis and temperatures in the negative digits. They’re coming back to Vegas in a couple weeks … for a charity event with Minnesota Viking Adrian Peterson and Phil Hellmuth. Raise Your Hand for Africa looks to be a celeb-packed event … and not necessarily your usual poker-playing Hollywooders.

Then they’re headed to Reno in May for Jen Harman’s annual SPCA charity event, which is moving from the Venetian to Peppermill — for an event HPT’s production crew will be televising.

What looks to have been a rookie armed robbery of a min-stakes poker game in Michigan caught on video … just like EPT Berlin … you know, if PokerStars ran live events in the $30 to $40 buy-in range that start at 7 and have 15-minute levels.

At about 1 am Wednesday night/Thursday morning, two armed men entered “The Tilt Room” at the Bob-Hi Lanes near Muskegon, Michigan (a small port town of about 174,000). Upon being laughed at by players and managers, one of the robbers pistol-whipped a room employee as the duo grabbed cash on the bar, then stuffed their pockets with the rest of the money on hand. No one was seriously injured. Police say they are looking for two black males, one about 6’4″ the other 5’9″.

No word on how much money the “blue-hoodied bandits” got away with. By law, Michigan poker rooms are allowed to sell up to $15,000 in chips each day.

News reports say it was a Red Cross charity event — but just to be clear, unless I am seriously underestimating the size of the Wednesday evening tourney by a few hundred, this was not like the red-carpet charity events many of us no well. Michigan law allows for small-stakes poker rooms akin to many underground games around the country — so long as they pay the state a daily license fee and give a small portion of their rake and entry fees to charity. That charity can change by the week.

Recently publicized events at The Tilt Room benefitted, for example, an athletic booster club to buy new uniforms for a local baseball team, and the West Michigan Spay & Neuter Clinic, as listed in the current issue of West Michigan Cats and Dogs Magazine.

Michigan poker rooms have apparently been hit recently by a rash of robberies and parking lot muggings.

One of the more fun events gets started in a couple hours at the Golden Nugget (which seems poised to take over from the Hard Rock as the primary LV charity destination) … so if you’ve got nothing better to do this afternoon than get warmed up for some Vegas Halloweening, why not help out the soldiers while mingling with some big-time MMA, small-time Hollywood, and mid-tier poker world:

Operation All-In
benefitting Xtreme Couture GI Foundation
organized by Randy Couture and Karina Jett
2 pm

$225 buy-in, $100 rebuys
1st prize $10k

I had a blast at this event last year, not because I “moneyed” to score a Full tilt swag bag for my 30somethingth-place finish … but just because it was just more fun than the usual charity show. For the more casual player, it’s the only time you’ll see MMA strongmen somewhat intimidated by scrawny poker geeks while entertaining the festive-drinky feelgood tourists … many who can’t seem to believe they are “in the ring” with so many people they’ve watched on TV — all for a tax-deductible donation less than they were planning to drop on a single sitting at a smokey $5 blackjack table.

A buy-in to this event also gets you in to Randy Couture’s Halloween Bash this evening at the Golden Nugget’s surprisingly undouchey nightclub Gold Diggers.

More info here.

Post to be continued … so check back later, but wanted to get the word out in time for Vegas peeps to head downtown before the end of the rebuy period.

Full Tilt began offering these online a while back, but no clue how they worked out. According to the sign, these were the first ever in a land-based casino. I ventured over to see how it was playing, but they were down to three and it seemed at this point it was just straight poker. Mel Judah sat at the final table but wasn’t playing. I assumed he was sweating, or at least trying to woo, the lovely middle-age Asian lady still with chips. That may or may not have been true, but turns out primarily Judah was there because it was his game — supposedly his creation.

See for yourself what Mel is up to at CashoutPoker.com.

UPDATE: Oops, turns out the lovely lady was JJ Liu. One of these days I will learn actual players.

Hard Rock charity knocks

Upon his own early elimination, Gavin Smith took over as charity photog, no-flash rules be damned!

Also stopped by the Hard Rock this weekend … first time since Detox and the shuttering of their room (and operations) that made @hardrockpoker the Pokerati game’s home for most of 2010. No new-resto construct has begun — just a bunch of tables stuffed in the back of the old room, with their previously decorative orange-luxe highback leather chairs lined up in front of the TVs that used to entertain 1/2 players. With football on and one viewer lounging per screen, It was both awesome and sad.

Anyhow, the new smaller spot is still called the “Poker Lounge” … nice-ish, but looks unsettled in. And though it seemed clear from a matter of simple square footage that the Hard Rock’s days as a red-carpet poker venue are gone, none of that seemed to stop the good times at Gavin Smith’s Darius Goes West charity tourney (with Bryan Devonshire) … which was kinda a birthday party for the namesake beneficiary, Darius Weems, the kid with an extra-funky form of muscular dystrophy that Smith says inspired him to a WSOP bracelet this summer. Darius had just turned 21 (he wasn’t supposed to live past 16 I think?) … and really, can you think of a better host to welcome those coming of age into the glorious world of degenerate gambling?

Here’s video from the final table, with Layne Flack, David Plastik, and at least one semi-awkward kiss:

BTW, fwiw, the Hard Rock has changed their basic game to 1/3 NL, with a $500 max buy-in.

Elsewhere in Vegas …

Unvetted, unconfirmed word has it that Fiesta Henderson has closed their poker room. Supposedly they lost their players to the Club Fortune casino, which began holding a $40 bounty tourney ($10 for each knockout) and taking a better-for-locals high hand jackpot drop. (You’ll have to pardon Pokerati for not digging into this plausibly controversial game-shift.)

And here’s a globally funny poker picture … from power Vegas player Eric Baldwin at EPT-London:

As you know, I’m not really watching much poker this summer; however, I am rather excited about finally getting to play a little, tournament-style — and Friday I’ll be doing just that in Karina Jett’s All-In 4 Autism Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament. There’s just something about a tax-deductible underlay that makes ridiculously fast and luck-based blind structures appealing.

I played last year, and with just a single rebuy, I actually cashed. Got a really nice gift bag with some coupons and not one, but two Full Tilt swag t-shirts. (I think I finished something like 30th place out of maybe 150?

But the awesomeness of the Vegas charity scene became clearly apparent to me not from any “celebs” at my table, but from a very drinky maniac a few seats to my left. He was playing terribly but without fear, putting in rebuy after rebuy and playing any two cards, which sometimes got there allowing him to take down a big pot.

This guy — a real estate dude from Houston, I believe — had no idea the event was going on until he had seen something about it at the Golden Nugget, and decided to take the $1,000 he had to gamble that day and give it a shot. For him, it didn’t matter if he won or lost, he was just happy to be playing poker while pounding the rum-and-diets at the table with Chip Jett and Adam Schoenfeld, two pros he had seen several times on TV who were willing to play back at him no less! “I’m having the time of my life!” I distinctly remember him slurring,while waiting to see if his 6-7, J-2, King-spoon, whatever … held up. Eventually, after the rebuy period was up and he donked himself out of any money prize … it still didn’t matter.

Charity maniac-dude just had a unique, memorable rip-roaring-fun Vegas experience that he hadn’t even planned on. In the end it cost him less than he mighta lost anyways (or, by his own admission, spent frivolously at a strip club) while he helped make the bad beats and crazy calls all part of an even more generous and extra good time.

While certain causes are almost always near-and-dear to the host’s or hostess’s heart — as autism is here for Karina Jett — guys like charity-maniac dude, I’m pretty sure, is why the pros play these things.

Beyond getting to write off all their rebuys, it’s a chance to actually kick back a bit — doing what they already do, but without the seriousness attached to the WSOP, almost like a break without having to take a full mental vacation. Perhaps reminds them of bigger life pictures in play, too, not to mention why they play the game in the first place … because at its core, even when you leave with less money than you arrived with, it can be really, really fun.

More information at AllIn4Autism.org.

PRESS RELEASE

May 11, 2010

Celebrities and Poker Pros go All In 4 Autism

LAS VEGAS – The Golden Nugget will kick off its Third Annual Grand Poker Series with the inaugural All In 4 Autism Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament hosted by former Miss USA and television personality Shanna Moakler, June 4 at 6 p.m. in The Grand events center.

Celebrities, poker pros and athletes such as Jason Alexander, Dan Henderson and Erik Seidel will join All In 4 Autism to raise awareness and funding for the growth in autism services in the Las Vegas area during this star-studded charity poker event.

“We are very happy to be partnering with the Golden Nugget, its Grand Poker Series and many of Las Vegas’ finest poker pros and celebrities to host this very special and important charity event,” said Karina Jett, pro poker player and national spokesperson for the non-profit organization. “All monies raised will go to increasing awareness of the limited services for autism in Las Vegas.”

The All In 4 Autism Charity Poker Tournament will feature $220 buy-ins and $100 re-buys, with a $10,000 grand prize, with all proceeds going to autism services in Las Vegas.

Autism is a neurological disability that affects more than 1 in 150 children. It is characterized by deficiencies in communication, socialization and behavioral growth. Different types of therapies address the various needs of a person with autism, and some families with a child with autism are unaware of the therapies available to them in Las Vegas. All In 4 Autism helps the families understand what services are available to them, as well as raises money and awareness for the growth of autism services in Las Vegas.

Therapies for autism can require many, often expensive, services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, biomedical treatments, relationship based services and behavioral based services.

Services for one child with autism often cost a family upwards of $40,000-$60,000 per year, depending on their needs. In Las Vegas, while there are some options for children with autism, funding is minimal and supports a very small population of children. All In 4 Autism strives to assist these families in need.

“Many children in Las Vegas go without therapeutic support in the home due to a lack of financial support for services,” said Marija Savitt, co-founder of All In 4 Autism. “Through All In 4 Autism, we hope to break that cycle by offering these families hope and support.” Scheduled to appear at the tournament is Jason Alexander, Dan Henderson, Gina Hecht, Erik Seidel, Kristy Gazes, Chip Jett, Martin Kampmann, Heath Herring, Nicholas Gonzalez, Susie Isaacs, Adam Schoenfeld, Joe Rietman, Miss Nevada USA Julianna Erdesz, Mike Swick, Lee Watkinson plus many more.

Players can register for All In 4 Autism in person at the Golden Nugget Poker Room, by calling 800-777-4658, ext. 8164, or emailing poker@goldennugget.com.

For more information on All In 4 Autism visit www.allin4autism.org. For more information on The Grand Poker Series or for a complete schedule of events, visit www.goldennugget.com.

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Nice!

Katkin bought in for a single $300 tax-deductible good-cause bullet, and with blinds rising quickly, maintained a 10-20 BB stack throughout to get to the final table. There, he knocked out Howard Lederer and outlasted Allen Cunningham to win $5,000, a week’s stay in a fancy-room suite at the Rio during the WSOP main event, and $1k in food comps at any of the restos there.

Read Katkin’s take on his own game as well as PokerGrump’s impromptu coverage of the event.

This was one of three (that I know of) big charity tourneys over the past week where FullTiltPoker.net sponsored the event and contributed a $10k WSOP main event buy-in to the prize pool for the winner. It was almost like a Full Tilt charity tournament series …

Tuesday, of course, was my ill-fated attempt at charity glory in Jen Harman’s Nevada SPCA tourney.

And Wednesday was the inaugural running of Ante Up for Africa-DC, hosted by Annie Duke, Don Cheadle, and the PPA. The fete raised $70k for Darfur relief and presumably helped convince at least a few federal types charged with determining our industry’s future that Full Tilt are the good guys:

Check it out … even though AUFA-DC was the one event with a field that didn’t include Carrot Top, the Philadelphia Inquirer took note — and found a curious subtext in members of Congress hootin’ it up with Lederer, who has been unabashedly trying to win support for anti-UIGEA efforts at the same time he may or may not be subject of a federal grand jury investigation …

There was a big charity event Tuesday night at the Venetian … part of their Deep Stacks II series … Jennifer Harman’s Charity Poker Tournament benefitting the Nevada SPCA. This has become one of the bigger Springtime celeb draws in poker, and is always a memorable shindig because of the presence of cute animals. You shoulda seen the look on the dealer’s face when Bijou (pictured here) jumped up and scampered around the table. I think half the players nearby were all cued up with jokes of “reraise!” and “floor!” had the pup, um, pushed a potty stack across the betting line.

Anyhow, I don’t know the numbers yet …I think it was actually smaller than in previous years, with 140something entries 30 minutes before late registration closed. But it really was a lot of fun … and the NSPCA seemed thrilled about the money the event was still raising, not to mention the number of rescued pets being adopted.

Pokerati Red Carpet Video

I wasn’t even sure I was gonna go … had an appointment earlier in the afternoon that ran long as well as friends and relatives in town … but decided to check it out. Walked up to the Nevada-SPCA PR guy and got myself a press badge looking to snap a few photos. He said he had just one badge left but was out of lanyards. I told him not to worry … I was pretty experienced at this kinda thing and could take care of it. Then, less than five minutes later (for my first time ever, seriously) I somehow lost my credential. It had to be within a 30 foot radius of the tournament registration, but no luck, couldn’t find it. (And Venetian can be pretty hardcore about stopping photos from anyone who isn’t Flipchip.)

But right around that time, I ran into Sam Chauhan — life/”mindset” coach to Phil Hellmuth, Paul Wasicka, Antonio Esfandiari, and others. He asked me if I wanted to play, presumably unaware that I had donked off what appeared like healthy winnings the last time we ran into each at the Hard Rock. No problem, he said, I can get you in … we walked a few steps, pointed to some people with clipboards, and boom — within a couple minutes I had a wristband and a seat card. Hmm, not bad …

I was pretty excited actually. Team Pokerati-er Jon Katkin had taken second place at the Emily Jillette charity tourney for Opportunity Village this past weekend for a $5k+ score. And he did it with just a single bullet and 1,000 starting chips. This was my turn … I could feel it … was running good.

David Chicotsky, aka The Maven (aka THE MAVEN!!!!) trying to win a prop bet that he could have a Pokerati patch “well-positioned” on his Vegas poker pal Stacey Lynn‘s chest before the final table.

I took my seat and shuffled my teensy starting stack. The biggest celebrity at my table was Carrot Top, who isn’t much of a poker player, but hardly knows a red carpet around town that he doesn’t walk. He was in a lot of hands early. I thought about making a move with A-9 suited, but decided no … I knew I had only one chance to be all-in. Sure enough, he was calling every bet. But after two orbits I got QQ under the gun. With blinds still at 25/50, I limped, as expected Carrot Top raised, and then Barry Dakake (executive chef at N9NE Steakhouse) re-raised. It was an easy all-in for me … original raiser folded, and Dakake briefly thought about it and called.

He showed AK. Ace on the flop, no improvement, and adios Pokerati.

Interestingly, before the turn and river, Howard Lederer had shown up to take his empty seat at my table. As he surveyed the felt, I noticed his eyes do a double-take on my left breast, which was appropriately patched up pimping a poker newsy website that we all know well and has prided itself with its 90ish easily 60 percent accuracy over the years when nosing around in the Professor’s business.

Alas. the dealer gave my empty seat card to the floor before taking Howard’s and dealing him in. As I walked away, Howard pulled out a stack of 100s and began his usual early-level charity strategy of going all-in on every hand, rebuying like crazy, and even sometimes rebuying for opponents whom he sucks out on. Bummer, If there was one guy I was hoping to see and talk to at that tournament it was Howard the alleged honcho at Full Tilt Poker. But unless I wanted to rebuy with an assortment of 20s, 10s, 5s, and even 1s, some of which was slated to fund breakfast tomorrow without a trip to the ATM, I would miss my chance to engage in 3rd-level poker small-talk with one of the most powerful and currently important (if not controversial) figures in the game.

Oh well, all for a good cause, right?

Check later for real red-carpet celebrity coverage here.

Chau Giang, btw, was the winner … OK, maybe the animals were the real winners … but they don’t get seats in the 2010 WSOP main event.

Here’s the actual complaint, filed two weeks ago in Franklin Circuit Court. You’ll see they spell out a host of alleged infractions by Full Tilt according to Kentucky state law against the citizens of Kentucky. And thus, they’re seeking to have all rake and player losses refunded.

They’re also calling out the company and its principals in harsh terms, saying Full Tilt is based on a series of shell companies to conceal their identities and avoid legal responsibilities, and labels Full Tilt defendants as “shams” and “alteregos” of each other and different individuals. We’re guessing they don’t have much case law on the role of avatars and multiaccounting Terms of Service agreements in poker. No word on whether or not Joan Rivers will be called to testify.

They’ve named other sites as well as having committed the same alleged crimes — including Doyles Room, Ultimate Bet, PokerStars, TruePoker, and more than 100 others. This way, should they win their case against Full Tilt, they’d be able to apply the same ruling to all these other online poker entities upon identifying who they are.

This is all happening as the Kentucky Court of Appeals considers arguments claiming that Imega has no standing to represent online poker defendants any more than NAMBLA would have standing to represent Catholic priests.

But lest you think the state of Kentucky is simply anti-poker, next month is the Derby Poker Championship — “Go All-In for Kids and the Climate” — an event hosted by Phil Hellmuth, Robert Williamson, III, and Denny Crum. Perhaps even more fascinating are the sponsors: Jim Beam (wouldn’t the WSOP kill for that relationship?), TwinSpires.com (Kentucky’s ready-to-go online gambling site), and UB.net.

IGRTEA 2010 specifies money for states and tribes — 6 percent — and attaches a dollar amount for a specific beneficiary, roughly $1 billion a year for foster-care programs. It’s being pitched as a sin tax, really — a simple addition to the tax code to allow one more group of disadvantaged youth to still get its government cheese. But if that’s the road they’re going down, perhaps they should earmark the $1 billion/year these kids will get from PokerTaxes.net as being for foster kids with cancer and cleft palettes? How can you be against helping foster children make that abused foster children with cancer and cleft palettes.

Here’s the actual bill itself. Just three co-sponsors out the gate, one of them being Barney Frank.

Supposedly, the McDermott bill is still companion legislation for Barney Frank’s 2267. But that bill seems to be going nowhere — instead of heading to mark-up, Frank is telling us to prepare for our next best course of action … let the UIGEA to go into full effect on June 1 and then they’ll see how really bad it is.

OK, interesting strategy. But don’t see where the McDermott bill fits in.

The last time we heard that type of talk was in November, when Spencer Bachus was preparing supporters of the UIGEA to prepare for its seemingly inevitable undoing.

So stuff has changed. How exactly remains to be seen. The .org apparently pushing the McDermott component is the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.

Meanwhile … you tell me, get a sense of where anything gambling really stands in DC when Speaker Nancy Pelosi lets something slip about wagers on health care reform votes:

(I call.)

Some of poker’s most influential — Annie Duke, Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, et al. — are headed to DC in the next month for the Ante Up for Africa and PreventCancer.org tourney/events … and presumably, while mingling with elected officials and writing checks, will see what kind of political magic they can work (or is being worked) between now and June 1, UIGEA D-Day.

You be the judge … good poker face on Spencer Bachus (R-AL) as he and his wife congratulate Rafe and Phil for their good great work fighting cancer?

Perhaps one of poker’s staunchest political opponents is softening … Either that or it’s hard to oppose money for cancer, especially at an event sponsored by Pfizer.

Prevent Cancer’s Spring Gala, where they present this award, is one of the bigger annual DC fêtes. Some details on the event itself:

Our 2010 Spring Gala will be held March 12 at the National Building Museum, our theme is the Indelible Impressions of India.

The Prevent Cancer Foundation Annual Spring Gala is widely recognized as one of Washington’s premier events, attracting more than 800 guests from the business, diplomatic, government, medical, sports, media and social communities.

The 2010 gala will be held under the honorary patronage of Her Excellency the Ambassador of India, Meera Shankar.

BIZBASH Washington has recently recognized the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s Annual Spring Gala as one of the Top 100 “must attend” charity events in Washington, DC!

The folks behind PreventCancer.org specifically honored Rafe and Phil for their work with Bad Beat on Cancer, a charity well-known in poker circles, and one the foundation credits for helping the organization vastly expand its reach over the last several years while raising more than $3 million for cancer research.

Prevent Cancer takes no shame in loving on poker. The 6th Annual Bad Beat on Cancer charity tournament is May 4. It’s one of the organization’s biggest fundraisers, and thus one of the biggest poker-minded DC shindigs of the year.

Phil Gordon is the official host.

No word on whether or not Bachus intends to play in that event, nor how many rebuys he’d have on hand.

ALT HED: Play with the Politicos

Also, check out Rafe’s blog. Not exactly the kinda thing you’d expect Bachus to embrace.

Supposedly, highly reliable sources are saying, Full Tilt brass in Ireland are telling Full Tilt-branded American (and non-American) pros that they are not allowed to play in the Venetian Deep Stacks main event … as it is part of the newly launched NAPT, presented by PokerStars.net. What, are you guys not buying their claim that Stars-dot-net is different than Stars-dot-com? Interesting …

We hinted that something was coming on The Poker Beat a couple weeks ago. Kudos to ESPN’s @GaryWise1 for digging up the confirmation on the above. Listen below to a 5-minute excerpt of the bubbling under.
TPB2510-excerpt

Apparently, Howard Lederer really has stepped away from calling the operational shots at Tilt, and it’s totally news to Bitar & Co. that Full Tilt pros were ever stepping foot in non-Tilt branded events, such as the PCA (PokerStars) and Aruba (UB). Sure enough, the Hollywood snub at the Sharon Osborne Trash Talk Championship of the World (at the Hard Rock) charity tournament was a sign of more serious fissures in the poker world to come.

Kinda funny … because these sites have been so worried how a new Harrah’s-branded online gaming presence would negatively affect other online sites branding opportunities at the World Series of Poker, and now their reaction to the threat seems on track to becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy.

UPDATE: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4921898&name=poker

I sent an email trying to find out how many people played, how much money was raised, and what celebs if any may have gone deep in the biggest freeroll in Texas history … but instead learned from Dallas CAN!, the charity who helped make it happen:

Went ok the poker company we partnered with did some things that were not right to help our charity and although we packed the place and paid up front for everything, we never saw a dime last night.

The event is technically a charity fundraiser for the much-respected DallasCAN! Academies around a Super Bowl viewing party. Tons of non-poker stuff and prize giveaways going on — and the freeroll poker tournement just happens to be part of it.

It took them like 6 years to figure out how to pull this off in a fully legal way, Big ups to all things Texas poker for this. Though like a McDonald’s Monopoly game, no purchase is necessary, they do offer a VIP upgrade that includes, among many things, extra chips for players in the tournament.

It all goes down at Gilley’s, which has much experience pulling off large poker events, though possibly never one this size before, featuring current Dallas Cowboy stars and tea legends:

Join celebrity athlete hosts and Dallas Can! Academy the 2010 DFW Big Game Watching Party!

Door prizes, spirits, food and legendary athletes all come together for the kids at the Can! Academies.

Hosted by:
Jason Witten,
Randy White,
Drew Pearson,
Stephen McGee and
Jay Novacek.

Sunday – February 7, 2010
Gilley’s – 1135 S Lamar St
Dallas, TX 75215

Fan Fest: Noon – 4PM
Game Watching Party: 3 – 10PM
Doors open to VIP at 3PM

Click here for the official website:DFWBigGame.com

Click below for details on the poker tournament itself — going around my old hometown stomping grounds via email. Should be a pretty fascinating mix of amateur poker types and major players in the Dallas area trying to win their way (via an arguably soft field in a challenging blind structure) into the other Big Game this summer:

We know how charitable poker players can be — it’s our one saving grace — and I’m sure at least a few of you have made donations already toward some humanitarian relief. PokerStars has set up “dummy tournaments” and accounts where players can transfer money to help the cause … funds the online poker site will match and send to the Red Cross. Likewise, Calvin Ayre has issued a $1 million matching-donation challenge to the entire online gambling industry.

With all the donating options out there — and the ever-present uncertainty over the difference between efficient humanitarian aid and exploitive charitable graft — I just wanted to weigh in and give a thumbs-up to one specific Haitian charity that I personally know does meaningful work AND has a little poker in its blood.

It’s called Project Medishare. They’re a bunch of doctors and volunteers who since 1995 have provided medical services, equipment, and training to some of the poorest villages in Haiti. Currently, they’re flying in trauma surgeons while helping coordinate relief with Haitian officials. And their chief blogger chronicling these efforts and helping drive online donations got her web-media start in poker.

photo: Jennifer Browning / 2006

Jen Browning cut her blogging teeth working for PartyPoker, PokerBlog.com, and GutShot — for whom she covered two WSOPs. (She also has published many photos in European poker magazines.) But watching a bunch of fat guys carelessly shove 10s of thousands of dollars around wasn’t quite her thing, I suppose … and after a couple volunteer trips to Haiti’s central plateau with Project Medishare, she realized a relatively small charity’s cause could greatly benefit from the same kinda of coverage dedicated to poker pilgrimmages … and thus she launched the Project Medishare blog in 2007. The site has proven to be a great way to for the charity to show its work in action, encourage donations, and, by facilitating partnerships with universities and hospitals looking to volunteer, you know, essentially grow their game.

But to be sure, Jen didn’t totally abandon poker in pursuit of blogging about stuff that’s actually important. As seen in the above pic, she brought the game with her to Haiti — teaching poker to the workers at a Project Medishare clinic in Thomonde. They played a slightly different version of the game, however — “Haitian Hold’em” has only one blind, and kickers don’t count … so there are a lot of chopped pots.

Anyhow, if you have no reason to choose one charity over another, I can personally attest that Project Medishare does great work and the money goes directly to a good cause where you can see the results semi-live on a blog that arguably wouldn’t be what it is today were it not for lessons learned and experience gained at the World Series of Poker.

Project Medishare’s efforts since the Earthquake are evolving day-by-day, even hour-by-hour. All their workers and volunteers survived uninjured, and have been rushing equipment and personnel to the most troubled parts of Haiti. On the ground there, the founders have met with the President of Haiti and the First Lady in an effort to most effectively get US trauma surgeons to places most in need. Back in the US, their leaders have put together Save Haiti Saturday — a partnership with the University of Miami, the Miami Heat, and a bunch of local businesses — encouraging companies and individuals to donate a percentage of today’s revenues to the effort.

Money is what these people need, and Project Medishare knows how to make good, immediate use of it. You can Insta-donate via PayPal here:

And hey, if you don’t believe my endorsement, believe Lenny Kravitz’s:

His schtick is playing for rent for the underprivileged, and ends up making $20k for the folks in the process: