Half A Million Raised For Charity In Poker Tourney

HALF A MILLION RAISED FOR CHARITY IN POKER TOURNEY
Annie Duke and Don Cheadle do it again, raising $500 000 for “Ante Up for Africa”

Movie star Don Cheadle and poker pro Annie Duke successfully held another of their “Ante Up for Africa” fund-raising poker tournaments this week, generating another half a million dollars for the charity.

Thanks to a top-up from the venue for the tournament, the San Manuel Casino near Los Angeles, over $500 000 was raised, increasing the total funds raised by “Ante Up for Africa” in two tournaments to over a million dollars.

“When I heard about San Manuel’s decision to increase the donation to $500 000, I couldn’t believe it,” said Cheadle. “I am so very grateful to them for their generosity and for helping us continue to bring the plight of the refugees of Darfur into the light.”

Big poker names turned out to support Annie and Don’s praiseworthy effort – their second successful fundraiser for Darfur. Duke’s brother Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Phil Laak, and Andy Bloch were joined by LA Dodgers first baseman James Loney, Willie Garson from “Sex and the City”, Josh Malina from “The West Wing” and Scott Ian of “Anthrax”.

“Ante Up for Africa” will again be in the news in July, when the dynamic Duke-Cheadle duo will run their third, and hopefully biggest yet, tournament on the eve of the World Series of Poker main event in Las Vegas. Last year’s effort was widely believed to be one of the most star-studded turnouts for a charity game ever, and the plan is to better this with an even bigger celebrity player roll-call.