A Special Charity Event

At a WPT Boot Camp early this year, I met Parrel Caplan and Beth Evans. They were at the camp to learn more about poker, with the goal of putting on a huge poker fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in Minnesota. They wanted to do it in conjunction with the Mall of America and Canterbury Park Card Club during November, which is Diabetes Awareness Month. Quite frankly, going to Minnesota in the winter wasn't too appealing to me, but after all, this was a charity event, and Canterbury Park was the first licensed facility to hold a legal poker tournament for a charity, so I really wanted to be involved with the Go All-in! to Cure Diabetes event. Besides, I have always had a fondness for any charity event that benefits diabetes research, since the cause of my father's death was diabetes.



On the first night of the extravaganza, Jan Fisher and I participated in Ladies Night at the Mall of America, the biggest mall in the country. Full House Entertainment, a local company that sponsors poker nights and poker leagues, supplied five poker tables and very enthusiastic dealers so that we could actually give some basic lessons and instruction to the women who showed up to play. In a very short time, they were practicing live play, and some were even playing minitournaments to qualify for a seat in the actual Go All In! to Cure Diabetes poker tournament. Over the next two days, WPT Boot Camp, represented by Steve Berman and Jules Leyser, manned the tables in the rotunda at the Mall and gave poker lessons to hundreds of poker enthusiasts.



The following night, Lyle Berman, T.J. Cloutier, Jan Fisher, Marcel "The Flying Dutchman" Luske, Men Nguyen, Mark Seif, Mike Sexton, and I gathered at the Mall to sign autographs and greet the locals. About two hours later, we all met at Manny's, an incredible steakhouse in downtown Minneapolis. Lyle Berman was our host for the evening, and he ordered up some wonderful side dishes and desserts to accompany our tasty entrees.



The next day, following more appearances at the Mall, all of us were taken to Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota. The atmosphere was that of a 1950s Las Vegas casino, and all the details were well attended to. There was a lot of vintage furniture, and even a performance by the Rat Pack, who were flown in from Las Vegas to entertain the crowd. A cocktail party and full dinner, prepared by chef David Fhima, pleased the participants, and entertainment also included karaoke, comedians, and poker instruction. The tournament was filled to capacity – 300 players with a very long waiting list. Money from the buy-ins all went to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. In addition to the poker celebrities, local celebrities playing in the event included Paul Allan (KFAN radio), Julie Barghini and Lori Cobb (FM 107), Matt Blair (former Minnesota Viking), Dan Cole (KFAN radio), Cory Cove (KFAN radio), Dave Dahl (KSTP TV), Charles Gonzalez (KARE 11 TV), Pat Miles (WCCO radio), Ron Rosenbaum (KSTP radio), and Joe Schmit (KSTP TV).

On hand to benefit a good cause (left to right): Marcel Luske, Jan Fisher, Men Nguyen, T.J. Cloutier, Mike Sexton, Linda Johnson, and Mark Seif

At the end of the night, I had the pleasure of announcing the final table, WPT-syle to a roomful of enthusiastic spectators. Here is a list of the winners and the prizes they won:



1. Jim Druck ($5,000)



2. Bradley Backstrom (a seat in the WPT Celebrity Invitational at Commerce Casino)



3. Jules Leyser ($2,500); she donated $500 of her winnings to the charity



4. Nicole Thomas (1,500); she donated all of her winnings to the charity



5. Jon Biasetti (a Card Player Cruises poker trip to Mexico)



6. Joe Sireno ($1,000)



7. Men Nguyen (a Tiffany watch)



8. Mark Lome (a trip to Cripple Creek Gold Rush Resort and Casino, including lodging, meals, and a buy-in)



9. Mark Opdahl (a WPT Boot Camp weekend)



10. Melony Michaels (a WPT Boot Camp weekend)



A lot of hard work went into making this event such a smashing success. Special kudos to Parrel Caplan (event organizer), Beth Evans (special events coordinator), Jackie Casey (Minnesota JDRF executive director), the entire Canterbury Park staff (especially Randy Sampson, Mary Pat Monson, John Harty, and Jerry Fuller), Lyle Berman and Andrea Green from the World Poker Tour, the World Poker Store staff, Wendy Meadley from the Poker Resource Network, Fallon Worldwide, Randy Levy from Rose Presents, Hugh Newman from Human Graphics, Phillips Distilling, Past Present Future-Steve Mogol, Skyway, TNT Productions, and Presswrite Printing. It was a thrill for me to be part of this event, and I look forward to getting involved in more charity fundraising events in the future.



Now, let's play poker.

Linda is available for poker events and seminars. You can contact her at her websites at http://www.cardplayercruises.com/ or http://www.lindapoker.com/.