Coming up later this month, Phil Hellmuth will lend his talents to co-host a charity poker tournament in Las Vegas benefiting the Starkey Hearing Foundation.
The Raise Your Hand for Africa event will take place on February 18th and 19th at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas. Hellmuth will join two professional football players, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, as the hosts of the charity poker tournament.
The “Raise Your Hand For Africa” activities start off on Friday night with a VIP Reception at the Grand Events Center at the Golden Nugget. Starting at 8:00pm, participants in the tournament are invited to participate in an auction and find out more about the tournament.
The tournament takes place on Saturday with a red carpet walk scheduled to start at 11:30am in the Golden Nugget ballroom and the Gold Diggers nightclub. The tournament will begin at 1:00pm and offers many special prizes to its participants and the winners. The weekend of festivities wraps up after the tournament with a special party for everyone in attendance.
Continuing in their support for charity, Ante Up for Africa founders Annie Duke and Don Cheadle will lend their support to the tournament. Several celebrities, including comedian Steve Martin, former Mr. Universe and actor Lou Ferrigno, sixth season “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks, Akon, and actors Kevin Sorbo and Verne Troyer.
The NFL will be well represented as well. Players that are confirmed for attendance include three of Peterson’s teammates with the Vikings: tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, wide receiver Bernard Berrian, and tackle Bryant McKinnie. Also turning out will be St. Louis Rams wide receiver Mark Clayton and two members of the Dallas Cowboys, cornerback Terence Newman and wide receiver Roy Williams.
For those looking to take part in the Raise Your Hand for Africa event, there is a special package that has been put together. For a $2,000 donation, a person will receive two passes to the VIP Reception on Friday night, a seat at the tables for Saturday’s tournament, two passes for the spectator areas, and two passes for the post-tournament party on Saturday night. There are other donation levels to ensure that one of the celebrities in attendance will be at your table and, for those who want to be a part of the tournament but not play, spectator passes are available for $25.
Philanthropist William F. Austin, who realized that the ability to hear was critical, especially in the development of children, founded the Starkey Hearing Foundation in 1973. Originally starting in the United States, Austin expanded the Starkey Hearing Foundation into a global organization in the mid-1980s and it has now helped people in over 150 countries including areas such as Vietnam, the Ukraine, and the Dominican Republic. The organization delivers hearing aids, mostly for children, epitomizing Austin’s mission statement for the organization.
“It’s important for us to help the children because they’re the future of the world – and if we neglect the children, we diminish our future,” Austin declares in his mission statement. “This is a very special thing we do for the children. It is something from which they’ll always remember us. Our reward is in the faces and smiles of each person as we help them hear again. This is the best work we could ever do because it’s helping people… and that’s what life is all about. We truly live through what we give – we live on into the future through our gifts back into our community and to humanity.”
