On Friday, UB.com poker pro Joe Sebok will rappel down the Masquerade Tower at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to raise money for Special Olympics Nevada. Whereas much of Sebok’s experience at the Rio has been inside the convention center for the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), his Spiderman-like abilities will be showcased on the building’s exterior tomorrow.
The Over the Edge fundraiser allows participants to rappel 51 stories in exchange for raising a minimum of $1,000 for charity. For Sebok, dropping over 500 feet in a sturdy harness is child’s play. This month, the former “Poker2Nite” host and current PokerRoad personality will jump out of an airplane with a qualifier from UB.com. The tournament, which was dubbed “Leap of Faith” and took place as part of UB.com’s Pro Freeroll Challenge in February, had a $2,000 prize pool and its winner would jump alongside Sebok.
At the time of writing, Sebok has raised nearly $1,200 for the Special Olympics Nevada. You can add to the cause by clicking here and visiting Sebok’s personal fundraising page. This year, the Over the Edge event has raised nearly $40,000.
The Rio is no small hotel to tackle. According to its website, the Rio weighs in at over 2,500 suites, each of which encompasses over 600 square feet. The Masquerade tower features larger suites that offer 180-degree views of Sin City and its outlying areas. The Harrah’s property is located off the famed Las Vegas Strip on Flamingo and opened for business in 1990.
Despite jumping out of airplanes and being the general life of the party, Sebok told Poker News Daily on Thursday that he’s a tad apprehensive about rappelling down the Rio: “I’m actually scared of heights, so I am a little nervous, but it ends up being a no-brainer to come out and help people. I’m not going to sit out because I’m scared.” Sebok added that he’s more comfortable jumping out of a plane than doing low-to-the-ground stunts like bungee jumping: “I think bungee jumping is scarier than skydiving. When you’re in a plane and you look out, it’s like a cartoon. It’s not really real.”
Fundraising runs deep in Sebok’s family. Take his stepfather, Barry Greenstein, for example. Greenstein is a 2010 Poker Hall of Fame nominee that may earn his nod into the prestigious club in part due to his fundraising efforts away from the felts (not to mention his three WSOP bracelets). Sebok noted, “All of us are heavily involved in fundraising in my family. We feel lucky and I have the most incredible life. Whenever people need help, you should help them out. The Rio rappel is a no-brainer. I get to do something cool and raise money.”
Sebok recently returned from a trip to Costa Rica, where UB.com is located. While there, an earthquake struck, but Sebok, a San Francisco native, remained calm. “It wasn’t that big of a deal, but it was a decent-sized earthquake,” admitted Sebok. “We were on the fourth floor of the UB offices and I was with a few people who worked in Toronto. Those people were pretty panicky.” He added that if you ever find yourself in an earthquake, head for the nearest doorway.
The 2010 WSOP Main Event is exactly one month away from resuming at the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio. Sebok told Poker News Daily that his pick to win the nearly $9 million first place prize is John Racener. The man they call “$JMONEY$” will enter the November Nine with the fourth largest stack at 19.1 million, although he’s still a ways off chip leader Jonathan Duhamel’s 65.9 million. Sebok argued, “’The Grinder’ is a popular pick too, but all of us who have played with John Racener know he has a lot of game. He has a nice chip stack and knows what he’s doing.”
Play with Sebok at UB.com, which happily takes action from the United States.
