By Annie Duke, Ultimate Bet
I think the world would be surprised if they knew the truth about the generosity of the poker community. The image of the “gambler” – visored, smoking a cigar, not caring about anyone but themselves – has been so indelibly burned into the national consciousness. Think Edward G. Robinson in The Cincinnati Kid. Could you imagine Lancey Howard stepping up to the plate, selflessly, to give his time or his money to cause that didn’t directly benefit him? I certainly can’t. And I imagine that is part and parcel of the misperception the American public has about who poker players are as citizens of this planet.
The truth is so far from perception. Since poker players became famous, I have seen so many of us step up and use that notoriety to benefit those who truly need it. Whether it is for Make-A-Wish or the Children’s Hospital of Boston or countless other charities, call a poker player to make an appearance to help raise money at an event and they will come. And I am personally so thankful for that because I tend to call on those players more than others. I call on them to lend their names and reach deep in their pockets for a cause that I am so passionate about: Genocide.
Back in September of 2006, Don Cheadle, Norman Epstein, and I founded a charity called Ante Up for Africa. The idea was that all of us had participated in so many successful poker events over the years that we wanted to found an organization that would use the popularity and success of poker to raise money to benefit Africans in need. In particular, we have been very focused on the situation in Darfur where there are over half a million dead and over two million displaced due to the crisis there. When we founded the charity, we thought we would run a few small events, raise a little money for the cause, and help where we could. But those plans would seem silly in retrospect because we underestimated exactly to what degree the poker community would step up to the plate.
How big a plate? So far, a $2 million dollar plate! That is pretty sweet and amazing for the beneficiaries of our fundraising efforts: The !Enough Project and Not On Our Watch. Both of these charities benefit the survivors of Darfur, but in different ways. NOOW is focused on getting aid to the survivors, while !Enough is focused on executing political change for a lasting solution to the issue. Both types of help are equally important. Clearly, the survivors need aid and protection, but without a change in the political climate, there the aid because just a finger in the damn. Until our own government and governments around the world (particularly China) start behaving differently in regards to Darfur, there will not be a lasting solution to the issue.
Progress is certainly being made. A United Nations peacekeeping force has been deployed. China and Russia seem to be falling in line with the rest of the UN Security Council on the issue, but focus still needs to be maintained, particularly in light of the economic crisis in America. Oftentimes, these kinds of activities are likely to be the first to go. Charity definitely goes under the category of discretionary spending. With a tightening economic belt, discretionary spending is the first to go. It is hard to donate money to charity when people are worried about filling their gas tank up or buying food. Not only that, but government policy is likely to be focusing away from the situation abroad when what is happening domestically is so urgent. My fear is that we will see a big backslide in the Darfur situation.
Even in these tough times, though, the poker community hit a home run again on October 2nd. Now, granted, poker happens to be one of the more recession proof industries and all of us in the gaming industry should be really thankful for that. Not only that, but I believe the generosity of the players is pretty recession proof too. What happened in Aruba is proof. Ultimate Bet has been a great partner to Ante Up for Africa this year. They have been running fund raising events on the site, letting people donate their points to the charity, supporting the event at the WSOP, and running some land-based fundraisers like the one this week. How much do you think you could raise down in Aruba off of $200 rebuys alone? I know the answer and it is pretty sweet: $20,800. The event was a $200 buy-in event where all of the buy-in money went to the prize pool. The kicker for the charity was the rebuys and add-ons and they went rebuy wild down there. Imagine raising that much money on a little island in the Caribbean, $200 at a time.
My only regret is that I could not be there since I had to be in New York, but Don Cheadle came down there for the event. I could not ask for a more dedicated co-founder. That and he is a genuinely nice guy who really cares about the issues and is willing to take the time to fly down to a smaller event to support the charity.
There are some pretty great pictures and an awesome description of the event on the Ultimatebet.com website.
I am so lucky to be a part of the poker world. Where else could someone who just really likes games be able to participate in raising over $2 million dollars for something so important? I never imagined when I first sat down at a poker table to try out the game that it would lead to being able to contribute in such a big way. That is the real luck in what I do.