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Celebs go all in for poker tourney
Published: 2005-10-07
 By Angie Fenton
afenton@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Even when he's not behind the camera, Stu Pollard is candid. "I don't know my head from my tail when it comes to playing poker," he said.
It's a pretty safe bet the filmmaker will be one of the first celebrities knocked out of the Links for Life Celebrity Poker Open Sunday. But don't feel bad for Pollard, 38 -- he's all about playing "the opposite of a ringer" if it means drawing attention to a worthy cause: The Caesars Indiana-sponsored event benefits breast-cancer survivors, education and research.
"Breast cancer is something that affects one in eight women, and it's hitting younger and younger age brackets every year," said Candace Portman, Links for Life publicity chairwoman.
"Poker is such a hot game right now that we thought it was a great opportunity" to link local and national celebrities, she said.
Along with the chance to go up against Pollard, former teen idol Davy Jones, Louisville Fire owner Will Wolford and other celebs, participants can take part in live and silent auctions. Items up for bid include a weekend rental of a Porsche Boxster, airline tickets, a collection of autographed items from race-car driver Tony Stewart and a yacht trip on the Ohio River.
Proceeds from the event stay in the Louisville and Southern Indiana areas, Portman said. A sell-out could bring an $18,000 top prize for the tournament.
But Pollard, who held the premiere of his latest film, "Keep Your Distance," in Louisville last month, has his sights set on anything but the prize.
"I'm a huge proponent of anybody who's trying to build awareness for (a) cause," said Pollard, who is regularly involved with charities that aid children recovering from cancer. "Certainly, I want to encourage everyone to come out."
But, he added, "I'm definitely a 16th seed."
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Poker-playing Jesus offends
Published: 2005-10-05
 Ireland - Ireland's largest bookmaker, Paddy Power PLC, withdrew a billboard campaign on Wednesday that portrayed Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper table - playing poker and roulette alongside the slogan, "There's a place for fun and games".
The Dublin-based company was responding to legal threats from Ireland's Advertising Standards Authority, which reported receiving scores of complaints from the public in this predominantly Roman Catholic country.
At all 89 locations across Dublin, the offending billboards were replaced on Wednesday with new Paddy Power ads that said: "There's a place for fun and games. Apparently this isn't it."
Frank Goodman, chief executive of the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland, said Paddy Power had breached its guidelines for taste, decency and religion. "This apparently has caused widespread offence," he said.
The ad provoked laughter and irritation aplenty in this city of 1.3 million.
Dublin Archbishop John Neill, of the Anglican-affiliated Church of Ireland, said it "would be offensive to most Christian people".
'Rather good-humoured piece of public nonsense'
But on the editorial pages of The Irish Times newspaper, columnist John Waters called the ad a "rather good-humoured piece of public nonsense", and warned of the perils of censorship.
The company's main spokesperson - who is also named Paddy Power but isn't related to the company's fictional namesake - said the ad campaign was using images where gambling wasn't appropriate.
He noted that an accompanying billboard, which wasn't withdrawn, pictured doctors gambling on the sex of a newborn as a woman is about to give birth.
Power said the Last Supper was ideal because it was "absolutely the most inappropriate place ever for fun and games".
"We still don't believe we've pushed the boundaries too far," he said. "Some people just take this stuff too seriously."
Paddy Power last drew complaints from the advertising watchdog with billboards that portrayed people betting on two elderly ladies using walkers to cross a street.
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