Strip Poker: Mötley Crüe Singer Raises Money for Charity

In this "Strip Poker" series, Card Player covers the Las Vegas poker scene - on The Strip and around the city.

In rock-star fashion, Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil held his Third-Annual Off the Strip Poker Tournament this weekend inside the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The event raised approximately $175,000 for both the Skylar Neil Memorial Fund and the T.J. Martell Foundation.

Festivities kicked off with a live auction hosted by two of the most popular adult film stars, Taylor Wane and Tera Patrick. The two used their charm and a few sexy antics to entice bidders. Some items auctioned included a day with Patrick, an all-expenses-paid trip for two on the sold-out Vince Neil's Motley Cruise, and a selection of signed sports, music, and movie memorabilia. A number of professional poker players in attendance also took home some of these items, including Liz Lieu.

"I bought the poker table signed by many of the people here. Even my signature is on it," she laughed. "I wanted to support the charities, and I'm not into football and I don't have a need for a guitar so I bid on the table. I'm still not sure what to do with it, but I think I might just give it to another charity so that they can auction it off."

Lieu was not the only big-name poker professional who turned out for the event. Chip and Karina Jett, David Williams, Lee Watkinson, Phil Gordon, Todd Brunson, Hoyt Corkins, and Layne Flack all competed in the $550 buy-in charity poker tournament.

The event was directed by highly regarded tournament director Matt Savage.

"I have been working with this event from the beginning, and it is one of the first charity tournaments I have been a part of. It is always a great time," Savage said.

The event was limited to 150 players due to space, and each seat was filled. At every table was a poker celebrity with a bounty on his head. Among the prizes a player would receive if they knocked out a bounty were two tickets to a Vince Neil concert.

Shouts for rebuys and add-ons echoed throughout the room during the first hour of play. Since the guaranteed prize pool of $50,000 had already been exceeded from the initial buy-ins, every shout counted as another $200 donated to charity. In all, there were 173 rebuys and 102 add-ons.

The top 10 places were paid, and Greg Severson from California won the first-place prize of $20,000. Severson has played in the event all three years, finishing twelfth last year, and fourth in the inaugural event.

"My wife of 21 years died last year in October of melanoma cancer," said Severson. "I have been a big supporter of melanoma research, as well as other cancer research, so playing in this tournament, knowing that most of the proceeds go to cancer research, is very important to me, personally. I felt her presence with me during most of the day and especially during the final hand."

Severson explained the last hand and said that his heads-up opponent, William Scher, flopped two pair, and both players checked the flop. Severson checked the turn after making a gutshot-straight draw, and Scher put in a pot-size bet. Mathematically it made no sense for him to call, but Severson said that, despite the odds, every fiber in his body was telling him to do it. He did, and the river brought the miracle card to fill his straight. Scher pushed all-in and Severson called.

"He did everything right, but I felt I had an angel on my shoulder helping me on that hand."

Also making the final table was Todd Brunson's wife, Anjela. She received $3,000 for fifth. Much of the money awarded to the final 10 players was donated back to the charities at hand.

A cause dear to his heart, Vince Neil was grateful for the turnout. The proceeds went to two charities, one of which was the Skylar Neil Memorial Fund. He formed the foundation just after the death of his young daughter, Skylar, who suffered from stomach cancer. She lost the battle in 1995 (Click here to read Skylar's story). Since then, Neil has been dedicated to raising awareness of cancer and money for cancer research. The other benefiting charity is the T.J. Martell Foundation, an organization in support of the treatment of leukemia, cancer, and AIDS.

In addition to the yearly poker tournament, Neil also hosts the Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament. For more information on both events, click here.

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