Ante up for Africa and play with the STARS!! Matt Damon and Don Cheadle and more!!

The 2010 Ante Up For Africa Celebrity-Charity Poker Tournament on Saturday, July 3 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas offered a special opportunity as the only event of its kind where the general public can participate. Created by Oscar nominee Don Cheadle and Celebrity Apprentice star and WSOP bracelet winner Annie Duke, the Ante Up for Africa tournament will began at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 3rd at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, home of the 41st Annual World Series of Poker® (WSOP).

First place went to professional poker player Phil Gordon, who won a total of $129,086 and donated 100 percent back to the charity.

“I always wanted to win an event at the World Series of Poker,”Gordon said after his win. “Of course, it had to be a non-gold bracelet event.” He has made it to multiple final tables in the WSOP®, but has yet to win a bracelet. Runner-up, actress Shannon Elizabeth, felt similarly after the tournament ended, “I wish the rest of my WSOP had gone the way this tournament went.”

Ante up for Africa attracted 83 players this year including Don Cheadle, Annie Duke, Matt Damon, Brad Garrett, Shannon Elizabeth, Montel Williams, David Alan Grier, Evander Holyfield, Jerome Bettis and poker pros Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Howard Lederer, Phil Gordon, Phil Ivey, John Hennigan, Joe Hachem, Michael Mizrachi, Rafe Furst and Erik Seidel. The No-Limit Hold’em poker tournament required an entry fee of $5,000 and all of the in-the-money finishers donated a portion of their winnings to the charity.

This No-Limit Hold’em poker tournament has an entry fee of $5,000, and places players side-by-side with Hollywood hotshots, superstar athletes and poker professionals, battling it out in a unique charity tournament where you can walk away with a six-figure payday and contribute to a great cause too.

Through humanitarian assistance and policy work the organization seeks lasting solutions to Africa’s worst conflicts like the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan.  In 2009, the WSOP attracted 60,875 entrants from 115 different countries and awarded over $174 million in prize money.

“This is a great cause and a great event,” said WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart.  “Annie and Don have established quite a tradition with this event and we are honored to host it as part of the World Series of Poker.”



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© Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ erikkabik.com