Good People

There are many good people in the poker world. Some contribute their time, money, reputation, effort, and energy in hosting charitable events via poker. Four of these "good people" include Mickey Maurer, Paul Fruchbom, Jerry Buss, and Frank Mariani.

I wrote about Mickey Maurer last year. He is the founder of "Mickey's Camp," a charitable event in which local businessmen actually go to camp for three days and select things they would like to do (such as gourmet cooking, fly fishing, golf, photography, skeet shooting, wine tasting, poker, and so on). Mickey's Camp takes place at a YMCA camp about 40 miles south of Indianapolis, Indiana. It offers unique experiences and skill-development opportunities in an informal, relaxed atmosphere of fun and camaraderie. It is limited to 120 campers and raises more than $100,000 each year for local charities.

I was honored to attend Mickey's Camp recently for the second time. I am the "poker expert" who conducts the poker sessions and runs a poker tournament. Once again, poker was the most popular class at Mickey's Camp, and one of the camp highlights is the highly competitive poker tournament. Last year, the poker tournament drew 40 participants. That number doubled to 80 this year! And they all loved it.

The top three finishers were all first-time campers and relative poker novices. Finishing third was David Haeberle, a finance professor from Bloomington. Richard Mack, an investment advisor from Indianapolis, was the runner-up. And the winner was Marty Newman, who said he played some poker in grad school in '74, but hasn't played since. He is, however, a devout watcher/supporter of the World Poker Tour (as were many other camp attendees). Marty is a negotiator for corporate executives, which he says is "really big poker." Congratulations to Marty Newman, Mickey's Camp champion for 2003!

Having read about Mickey's Camp in Card Player last year, Paul Fruchbom, a successful businessman (and avid poker player) from Orange County, California, wanted to do the same type of charity fundraiser in Southern California. Paul has created an event that will raise money for underprivileged boys in Orange County. It's called "Big Boys Men's Camp." The inaugural camp will take place Oct. 10-11 in Big Bear, California, and is a model of Mickey's Camp.

Big Boys Men's Camp is a fundraiser for Orange County youth mentoring programs run by the United Way's Keeping Kids on Track, Orangewood's Guardian Scholars, the Orange County YMCA, and the Boy Scout's Learning for Life. Some money will also support YMCA Camp Whittle, the site for this year's camp. If you are interested in attending the camp or supporting these charities, or would like additional info about the Big Boys Men's Camp, go to www.bigboyscamp.org.

The names of Jerry Buss (owner of the Los Angeles Lakers) and his partner, Frank Mariani, are well known in the poker community. They have always been passionate about poker and can be seen regularly in the California card clubs. They also have hosted various charity poker events in the past.

The 2003 Frank Mariani/Jerry Buss Charity Open took place recently at The Bicycle Casino. It was a $3,000 buy-in half hold'em/half stud tournament, with 10 percent of the prize pool going to the Magic Johnson Foundation. In addition, The Bicycle Casino added $10,000 to this worthy cause. It was a fantastic event. Congratulations to Mori Eskandani, the Mariani/Buss Charity Open champion!

On behalf of everyone in the poker community, let me say thank you to Mickey Maurer, Paul Fruchbom, Jerry Buss, and Frank Mariani. Their willingness to take the time and effort to put on such worthwhile events is to be admired and appreciated by everyone. By these good people hosting charitable venues, the poker world gains credibility and respect.

Charity tournaments/events can only enhance the image of poker. Let's hope we see more of them in the future.

Take care.

Mike Sexton is the host of PartyPoker.com and a commentator on the World Poker Tour.