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Snoop Dogg Deals Into Miami Poker Tournament
Published: 2006-02-06
 Michael Heaton
Plain Dealer Columnist
Poker is all the rage. It's on television, the subject of books and is even a new source of funding for major charities. Everybody is playing poker these days.
Everybody but me.
Snoop Dogg can now add honorary host to his already impressive resume. The rapper is set to emcee The Rapper's Challenge Texas Hold 'Em Tournament onboard a Casino Ship at the Port of Miami on May 5.
The one-day event, which is expected to draw in famous rappers and top poker players, will boast numerous activities to keep everyone entertained. While the pro poker players duke it out for a $2 million jackpot, a celebrity VIP charity tournament will be going on at the same time with $50,000 going to the winner's selected charity.
There will also be live entertainment throughout the day from various hip-hop acts and Snoop's Uncle Reo will be serving up his famous barbecue on the top deck. In the evening, a Monday Night Fight Klub MC battle will be held and contestants will compete for a $25,000 prize. The battle will be filmed for a future television airing.
20 seats are reserved for pro poker champions and seats are still available for all challengers.
The entrance fee for the Rapper's Challenge is $15,000 and includes access to the no limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament play, the pre-Event Celebrity Registration Party, Monday Night Fight Klub, Uncle Reo's BBQ, the After-Party in South Beach, VIP admission to South Beach's hottest clubs and travel expenses.
At $2,000 a pop, VIP tickets are available for those who want to watch the tournament, gamble on the boat and join in the festivities throughout the weekend.
Tickets for the event are available at holdempromo.com.
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Legal or not, charity poker's the new golf
Published: 2006-02-06
 ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The Texas Hold 'em poker craze has become the newest fundraising tool for U.S. charities, with most players unaware of who the money's being raised for.
From local churches and community groups to giants like the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation are using poker events to raise money, in some cases ignoring state laws that outlaw such gambling, The New York Times reports.
"It's not that they're there to support the charity, they're there to do their favorite pastime," said Jim Kasputis, president of the Rockford Charitable Games Association, which runs games in Arlington Heights, Ill. "They could care less if it's the NAACP or the Ku Klux Klan -- they're coming to play."
Recovering gambling addict Arnie Wexler said he sees the new trend as a slippery slope.
"If you opened up a house of prostitution in downtown Chicago, people who never cheated on their wives would eventually go there because all of a sudden it's legal," he said.
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