Playing Poker for Charity and Chips

"Where have you been hiding out?" a lot of my tournament poker friends have asked me lately, since I haven't been as active on the tournament trail this year as in prior years.

"Been busy with other poker projects," is my stock answer, one of which is making personal appearances on behalf of Harrah's and various charities. Nowadays, in fact, many well-known tournament poker players are playing less and less poker because they are making more and more public appearances for poker-related companies and charity events.

The enormous publicity generated by this year's World Series of Poker has helped fuel the poker boom, with Harrah's, the new sponsor of the WSOP, helping to lead the way. The company is promoting poker in a big-time way through its televised WSOP events, and by launching new poker rooms in several of its casinos nationwide and reopening rooms previously closed. This couldn't be better news for poker players.

Along with Karina Jett, I recently made an appearance at Harrah's casino in East Chicago, Indiana, where it sponsored a charity tournament for several worthy local charities. The top three winners of the event donated their share of the prize pool to their favorite charity. Several prominent local leaders, including the mayor of East Chicago, participated in the tournament. I also was the celebrity host for a charity poker tournament in the newly opened poker room at Harrah's casino in Laughlin, Nevada. Again, the top three finishers donated their winnings to charity. Alas, my charity, St. Jude's Home for Children in Las Vegas, barely lost out, as I finished fourth. The community leaders who play in these events not only play for charitable causes, they play some serious poker!

Another way in which poker tournaments are being promoted by casino venues these days are invitational tournaments for valued customers. Harvey's Casino in Lake Tahoe, a Harrah's property, recently invited 98 of its special customers to play in an invitational event to reward them for their slot play. As the celebrity host, I was one of the participants, although I was not allowed to receive any prize money if, by a fluke of luck, I made it to the final table. The final 10 players were each rewarded with money, and the top prize was $10,000. Four players, myself included, were designated as bounties, with $1,000 going to the lucky player who knocked us out of action. With no entry fee and a total prize pool of $25,000 being awarded by the casino, the action was incredible.

I managed to get my money in with the worst hand or with a drawing hand on four occasions, and survived all of them. "I haven't been this lucky in years," I was thinking. "Wish this had happened at the World Series!" I finally got heads up with a nice lady who was wearing a badge that read, "McEvoy Hunter." She had the chip lead on me, but I didn't let that strike fear in my poker heart. With very high blinds, I daringly moved in from the button with pocket fours. Undaunted by my aggressive advance, my adversary gleefully turned over pocket aces! My measly pair got no help on the flop or the turn. Anticipating my imminent demise, I arose from my chair to shake her hand and she got up to accept my congratulations. Guess what hit on the river? Give up? Yup, a 4! She was never quite the same poker player after that bad beat, and I marched on to victory a few minutes later. Sure, I finally win a tournament and can't collect a dime! Oh well, you can't put a price on the fun factor. Since she was awarded my $1,000 bounty in addition to the $10,000 first-place money, her badge gave her bragging rights for years to come.

Another type of charity event that I will be hosting is the Big Boys Men's Camp at Big Bear Lake in San Bernardino, California. This camp helps raise money for underprivileged kids in Orange County. Scheduled to take place Oct. 8-10, the camp features a variety of activities for adults of all ages. Well-known experts give camp participants tips on everything from basketball and billiards to how to prepare gourmet desserts – probably my favorite class – trapshooting, cigar tasting, and poker (including two tournaments). If you're interested in finding out more about this charity activity, visit www.bigboyscamp.org.

Whether you're playing for chips or for charity, I hope to meet you in the winner's circle one day soon.