At 8:00 pm ET on August 11th, ESPN will be broadcasting an event from one of the most active charitable forces at work today. That charitable force is Ante Up For Africa. The Ante Up For Africa event took place on July 2nd as part of the prestigious 2009 World Series of Poker. This was Ante Up For Africa’s 3rd annual run in the WSOP, and proved yet again to be a huge success, raising a total of $360,000!
In total, 137 players registered for the event. The buy-in for the event ran at $5,000, creating a prize pool of $665,820, and it was suggested to players that they donate no less than 50% of their winnings. Alex Bolotin, who also cashed in four other 2009 WSOP events, took down the charity event. A special preview of the broadcast, put together by Enough, can be found here.
Ante Up For Africa is a non-profit organization that raises awareness about Africans in need, especially about the current genocide that is happening in Darfur. So far, it is estimated that 400,000 people have been killed and over 3,000,000 Darfuris have been forced to become refugees. The conflict is going on 6 years now, and the situation has become even more dire. Funds raised by Ante Up For Africa are donated to the organizations Enough and Refugees International, both who take active roles in helping in Darfur. Ante Up For Africa was cofounded by Don Cheadle, Annie Duke, and Norman Epstein in 2006.
Dozens of celebrities and poker pros interviewed at the special red carpet explained why they support Ante Up For Africa and why it’s so important that more awareness is raised. Jason Alexander, from the show Seinfeld, summed up the event nicely in his statement, “The truth is Don and Annie have made an extraordinarily fun event that people want to be at, around a cause that is heartbreaking, that doesn’t get quite enough attention, and I don’t know of any other major effort focused on Darfur and the African situation.”
Others showing their support at the event included Montel Williams, Ben Affleck, Phil Hellmuth, Matt Damon, Daniel Negreanu, Tiffany Michelle, Charles Barkley, Phil Gordon, and many more.
For information on how you can help the crisis in Darfur, please visit www.anteupforafrica.org.