The Mandarin Oriental Hotel New York will play host to the All In For Kids charity poker tournament on Wednesday night. A bevy of celebrities are expected, including some of the top names from the world of poker. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which was founded in 1855 and was the first children’s hospital in the United States.
The charity event is limited to 120 players. According to a press release distributed by tournament organizers this week, “Participants make a recommended donation to the Hospital to play. During the first three levels of play, players will have the option to rebuy with an additional donation.” Both the buy-in and rebuy are $5,000 and an add-on will be available. The Hospital will also raise money through sponsorships of the event. Organizations that have signed on include the Borgata Hotel Casino, Riverchasers Entertainment, and the Susquehanna International Group.
Participants expected to attend the event include Ultimate Bet personality Annie Duke. One of the top fundraisers in the world of poker, Duke is also a World Series of Poker bracelet winner. She took down a $2,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low Eight or Better tournament in 2004, solidifying her name as one of the top poker pros on the planet. She also won $2 million for taking down the WSOP Tournament of Champions later that year. Duke has been actively involved in the Ante Up for Africa charity, partnering with “Oceans 11” and “Crash” actor Don Cheadle to organize tournaments at the WSOP and on Ultimate Bet.
Also scheduled to appear is “The Poker Brat” Phil Hellmuth. The owner of a record 11 WSOP bracelets, Hellmuth just witnessed his distinction of being the youngest Main Event winner ever go up in smoke late Monday night, as Danish pro Peter Eastgate claimed the title at age 22. Hellmuth has over $6 million in WSOP earnings and won the Main Event in 1989, defeating poker legend Johnny Chan heads-up. Like Duke, Hellmuth is a representative of online poker site Ultimate Bet.
Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey will also go all in for kids. Ivey is the proud owner of five WSOP bracelets, the most recent of which came in 2005 in a $5,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha tournament. The finale of that event saw Ivey defeat Robert Williamson III heads-up. Also appearing at the final table were Allen Cunningham, Surindar Sunar, and Hellmuth.
Chef Bobby Flay, who has appeared on “Iron Chef America” along with Mario Batali and Masaharu Morimoto, will be in New York on Wednesday night for the benefit. He’s hosted seven Food Network shows including “BBQ with Bobby Flay” and “Hot Off the Grill with Bobby Flay.” He is no stranger to the poker felts, as in 2004, he appeared on Bravo’s “Celebrity Poker Showdown.”
The tournament’s lead sponsors are poker personalities Beth and Dan Shak. A hospital spokesperson told Poker News Daily how the tournament originated: “Dan and Beth are residents of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, which is just outside of Philadelphia, and they have been donors to the Hospital for a number of years. Beth has played in Duke’s Ante Up for Africa tournaments and Annie did graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, which is near the Hospital. Hellmuth and Ivey are good friends of Shak.” The Hospital takes patients from New York City, which is the site of Wednesday’s tournament, and has received a number of accolades from U.S. News and World Report.