A charity fundraiser orchestrated by Celebrity Apprentice runner-up Annie Duke raised $10,500 for Refugees International. The tournament, which was held at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, attracted some of the top names in the world of poker.
The finale of NBC’s hit reality show Celebrity Apprentice saw comedian Joan Rivers defeat Duke, generating an extra $250,000 for her charity, God’s Love We Deliver. Since the show wrapped up earlier this month, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner has been on a crusade to raise the same amount for Refugees International, a charity she banked over $730,000 for on Celebrity Apprentice. The fundraiser at the Hard Rock featured a $200 buy-in tournament with $100 rebuys, resulting in a total prize pool of $21,000. In the end, half of that sum, or $10,500, was donated to the charity, which raises money and awareness for the victims of the crisis in Darfur and elsewhere.
Among those turning out from the world of poker on the eve of the $40,000 buy-in tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP were Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch, Rafe Furst, Men “The Master” Nguyen, “Hollywood” Dave Stann, and Duke’s brother, Howard Lederer. Amazingly, the spectacle was organized and marketed in just 10 days. Its publicist, Lara Miller, told Poker News Daily, “About 10 days before it happened, I was talking to Annie and saying that we should do something to help her make up the money from Celebrity Apprentice. We rounded up all of these impersonators.” Frank Marino, who has starred as Joan Rivers on the Las Vegas Strip for 25 years, masterminded the impersonators in question.
Miller credits Ultimate Bet and the Hard Rock for helping pull together the event on such short notice. Duke is a sponsored pro of the Tokwiro-owned online poker room alongside 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. Miller explained that attracting the attention of the media involved capitalizing on Duke’s newfound star power: “Getting that much press there was a byproduct of Annie. She’s the most recognizable poker player worldwide. The thought was to get out there and do one last thing about Joan Rivers.” Among those media outlets turning out for the Wednesday night Refugees International fundraiser at the Hard Rock were TMZ and the Associated Press. Extra will feature the event in its weekend telecast. The event was officially dubbed “Sucking out on the Rivers” and sponsored by UltimateBet.net, DeepStacks University, the Hard Rock Poker Lounge, and the WSOP Academy.
During the second season of Celebrity Apprentice, Duke and Rivers jawed from the beginning. Rivers called Duke “trash” and a “Nazi,” whereas Duke compared Rivers to a cancer. On the strength of strong ratings during the season, Celebrity Apprentice will return to television airwaves after the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. It will once again run for two hours on Sunday nights beginning at 9:00pm ET on NBC.
Miller lauded the involvement of Refugees International, which met its fundraising goal in 2008 by virtue of Duke’s presence on Celebrity Apprentice: “They are amazing. It’s a cause that I really believe in too.” When show host and real estate mogul Donald Trump selected Rivers to become the next Celebrity Apprentice, Duke began raising the $250,000 grand prize in earnest for her own charity. Miller told Poker News Daily, “She was the one out there raising money for her charity and doing events. It speaks to the kind of person she is.” Duke raised $465,000 in the final task of Celebrity Apprentice alone, which challenged teams to conduct a silent auction prior to a performance of the Cirque du Soleil show Wintuk. Among those poker players turning out were Perry Friedman, Bloch, and Hellmuth.
Ultimate Bet has sponsored numerous fundraisers over the years, both online and offline. In 2006, Duke founded Ante Up for Africa along with actor Don Cheadle and Norman Epstein. The organization has received a considerable amount of exposure on the CEREUS Network site. Miller explained, “Ultimate Bet really recognizes the need to raise money. They sponsor Phil Hellmuth’s charity, the TASER Foundation, and really want to give back.”
Miller wanted to thank TBT Agency’s Jo Priam for coordinating players for the Hard Rock event and Brian Stedeford, the Vice President of Operations for the Hard Rock.
