It's Time to Ante Up
2008-07-02 19:44:02
By: Gene Bromberg
Poker is an odd game. To win at poker you have to beat the other people sitting at the table. You win, they lose. The more they lose, the more you can win. Your success at poker is directly linked to how badly they fail. It's been said that a poker game is an experiment in accelerated Darwinian evolution. The strong thrive and survive. The weak hobble away from the table with head bowed.
So how is it that poker is one of the world's great pastimes? Why do tens of millions of people gather around a table every day to break out cards and chips and play a few hands? It's because poker is a great way for people to get together and have some drinks, some snacks, and some good conversation. Poker doesn't HAVE to be about felting the other guy and establishing your dominance. The game is flexible enough to accommodate those who play strictly for money and those who just want to spend an evening talking trash with their buddies.
Even among professionals poker isn't purely about cutthroat competition. The player who traps you for all your chips might be the guy you go to dinner with later on. There's room for friendship and respect even among people who would have no compunction about check-raising each other for their very last nickel.
There's a lot of money sloshing back and forth in the poker economy and over the years many players have tried to find ways to channel some of that money to those who desperately need it. One of the most prominent charities is Ante Up for Africa, which was founded by UltimateBet's Annie Duke, actor/director Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein. Ante Up for Africa is dedicated to raising money for the victims of the crisis in Darfur, and to raise awareness of the humanitarian disaster than continues there to this day. Today Annie and Don are hosting the second Ante Up for Africa poker tournament here at the Rio and since they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll let the images do most of the talking.
Annie and Don took a moment before the tournament to advise the players that under Nevada Gaming regulations they are not allowed to withhold any money from the prize pool for the Ante Up for Africa charity. So it's up to the players who make the money to decide how much to give, though I highly doubt that's going to present a problem. If you'd like to contribute yourself, you can either give directly through the Ante Up for Africa site or you can donate cash or your UltimatePoints through the UltimatePoints Store.
Phil Hellmuth and World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack posing with one of the Ante Up for Africa patches that many players have been wearing throughout the Series. You can't tell from the picture but there were about 50 photographers and cameramen shooting the scene.
Team UB pro Scott Ian, wearing a freakin' cool new T-shirt that I've never seen before. I gotta get me one of those.
Matt Damon? Good lookin' dude. I'm just saying. I wandered by the rail were several masseusses were waiting for the media to leave so they could get to work and one asked which celebrities were in the crowd. I said, "Well, Matt Damon..." and a half dozen thronged around me and said, "Where? There? Table 5???" If Matt has a sore shoulder or a kink in his neck he'll probably be fine by the end of the day.
Actor/director/poker champion Ben Affleck. Affleck won the California State Poker Championship back in 2004 and as you can see he's pretty nimble with the chips.
If you've ever attended the Aruba Poker Classic you know that Phil Hellmuth likes to grab the mike and make his rounds through the tournament field. He's acting as emcee for today's event as well and certainly there are a fair few famous faces to chat with.
Like Adam Sandler...
Montell Williams...
Phil and Charles Barkely talked a bit before the event before Sir Charles sat down to business:
And Barkley's fellow former NBA great (and fellow TNT basketball analyst) Kenny Smith was also there:
I was taking pictures of Kenny Smith when a man eased by and said, "Oh, sorry," when he saw me snapping pics. "No problem," I said...then saw that it was Ray Romano who'd issued the apology. Nice of him to do so, hope he wins the thing now.
I said before that the generosity of poker players can supercede their competitive nature, and that goes for poker sites as well. There were a number of well-known players from other sites who also played in today's event.
2005 World Champion Joe Hachem played in today's event, as did 2004 World Champion Greg Raymer:
Annie's brother Howard Lederer was in attendence:
As were his fellow Full Tilt pros Chris Ferguson, Erik Seidel and Clonie Gowen. I only got a picture of Clonie. I hope you'll forgive me:
I don't know who this is, but, wow. Did I say I hoped Ray Romano would win? I take it back:
Keeping with the motif, Jennifer Tilly is also in the field today:
As are Shannon Elizabeth...
And Liv Boeree:
I know I'm forgetting a host of famous players and celebrities in today's field, but it was a bit chaotic in there. Players chatting, media swarming, and the crowd! The crowd!
They actually cheered when the media was booted out of the room. Ungrateful mob. But the real purpose of today's event isn't to get a snapshot of Matt Damon or Charles Barkley's autograph. And it isn't to see who won the tournament. It's to get the people in the picture above (and those of you reading this) to understand that there are people suffering unbelievable hardships in Darfur. That there are hundreds of thousands who have lost their lives and millions more who's lives are in jeopardy. And that there's something you can do about it--donate money, write your Congressperson, keep yourself informed about what's happening there and throughout the rest of the world. Today, for now, it's OK to be a little star-struck and go crazy with the camera. But remember that YOU can do something to help. A small donation, a letter written to those in power, can help change the world.
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