The late, great Chad Brown will be honored this weekend at Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel in downtown Las Vegas with the Chad Brown Memorial Ceremony and Inaugural Charity Poker Tournament. The ceremony, at which Brown’s life will be reflected upon, will begin at 4:00pm on Sunday, July 13th, while the poker tournament will begin at 6:00pm.
“This annual event will be a celebration of Chad’s life,” said Chad’s ex-wife and fellow poker pro, Vanessa Rousso, in a press release. “Chad touched so many so deeply and this is a way to keep his memory alive.”
“Also,” Rousso added, “I am proud to announce that for this year, PokerStars, Chad’s poker sponsor has generously offered to partner with us.”
PokerStars will be matching all funds raised through the event, to be given to charity.
Sue Hammett, PokerStars’ Director of Corporate Giving, said:
PokerStars was proud to have Chad Brown on our team. We are devastated and mourn the passing of our dear friend Chad Brown. For this year’s inaugural Chad Brown Poker Tournament, PokerStars is pleased to announce and donate the following to this worthy charitable event. The first place winner of Chad’s tournament will receive a Main Event Seat at the next PokerStars Caribbean Adventure event. The second place winner will receive a main event seat including hotel for 5 nights at the Montreal Poker Festival which will take place August 22nd thru September 4th of this year.
The buy-in for the tournament will be $200 + $25 with half the buy-in going into the prize pool and half earmarked for charity. Unlimited $50 re-buys will be available for the first six rounds, all of which will be donated to charity. A dealer add-on for $50 is also available.
The donations will go to two charitable organizations. The first is a Nevada non-profit called When Charity Works, whose CEO Lupe Soto is also one of the tournament organizers. The organization’s mission: “Creating collaborative programming to meaningfully improve people’s lives, When Charity Works strives to become an innovative philanthropic leader by providing substantial, sustainable assistance to Nevada communities in need.”
The second charity is the T.J. Martell Foundation, which, since its founding in 1975, has raised over $260 million for cancer, leukemia, and AIDS research. It was started by Tony Martell, whose son, T.J. died at the age of 19 from leukemia.
Laura Heatherly, CEO of the T.J. Martell Foundation, said, “We are proud of this new association with the Chad Brown Memorial Charity Poker Tournament. Presently, besides our other cancer research programs, we are now expanded into sarcoma research. We look forward to the day when we can conquer this devastating disease.”
Chad Brown passed away on July 2nd following a three year battle with liposarcoma, a rare form of cancer. In his career, he won over $3.6 million in on the live tournament circuit, including a second place finish in the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Championship and numerous World Series of Poker final table appearances. Though he never won a WSOP bracelet, the WSOP awarded him an honorary bracelet and got it to him just days before he died. WSOP Tournament Direct Jack Effel called Chad, “A person that stands for something, like integrity, honor, and friendship. A person who is positive, warm, and respectful. A person who always made the game better just by being around the tables.”