Paris Hilton, Willem Dafoe Attend Jamie Gold Cannes Poker Fundraiser

The 2009 Cannes Film Festival recently played out from the luxurious city on the French Riviera. During the event, the Maybach Foundation honored “Rounders” actor Edward Norton and hosted a charity poker tournament led by 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Jamie Gold.

The former ACED Poker pro served as the emcee for the event, which attracted 250 runners to the felts in Cannes. VIPs hosted by the Maybach Foundation included hotel heiress and television star Paris Hilton, “Lords of Dogtown” personality Emile Hirsch, Swedish model Malin Akerman, “Spiderman” actor Willem Dafoe, Hofit Golan, “Highlander” actor Adrian Paul, “The Hills” reality show star Doug Reinhardt, director Lars von Trier, “Reservoir Dogs” producer Lawrence Bender, and novelist Paulo Coelho. Celebrities from the world of fashion, sports, and business were in attendance, many already at the annual festival in Cannes.

The following day, Norton, whose role in the movie “Rounders” was one of the contributing factors to the modern poker boom, was honored by the Maybach Foundation for his work with charity. Norton joined the ranks of previous award winners like “Speed” actor Dennis Hopper and musician Quincy Jones. The organization’s President, Ulrich Schmid-Maybach, commented in a press release distributed last week, “The extraordinary engagement of Edward Norton is an excellent example of genuine celebrity support for charitable cause.” Norton was shooting a film in Detroit at the time of the Cannes events and was unable to attend. Instead, he appeared via satellite and thanked the gathered crowd.

“Rounders” was released in 1998 and also starred then-up and coming actor Matt Damon, John Turturro, Famke Janssen, Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich, and the legendary Martin Landau. It first turned many of today’s young guns of poker onto Texas Hold’em. The thirst for the game would boil over five years later when a Tennessee accountant with a unique last name dominated the world’s top competition in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. In that tournament, Team PokerStars Pro member Chris Moneymaker trumped Sammy Farha heads-up, leading to a streak of wins by aspiring amateurs in poker’s most prestigious tournament. Since then, Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Gold (2006), Jerry Yang (2007), and Peter Eastgate (2008) have all captured WSOP Main Event bracelets.

Gold sits atop the all-time WSOP money list with over $12 million in earnings. He won exactly $12 million for his 2006 title and is comfortably ahead of Eastgate, who owns $9.1 million in lifetime earnings, good for second on the all-time money list. Gold’s Team ACED took down the first open event held by Dream Team Poker, which played out in March from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The trio pocketed nearly $60,000 for their efforts in the team poker tournament, which saw Gold partner with Ashley Nataupsky and Houston Waldie. He will have a chance to defend his title when Dream Team Poker makes its WSOP debut in July at the Rio during the tail end of the 2009 Main Event. Like the Ante Up for Africa charity tournament and Sunday’s WSOP Champions Invitational, the Dream Team Poker event will not award a bracelet.

According to the same press release, the Maybach Foundation “helps particularly gifted young people reach their full potential by providing an innovative mentoring program and financial support.” The organization is headquartered in San Francisco and was founded back in 2006. It has since expanded to include an office in Germany.

Also benefiting from the Cannes event was Sunflower Children, an organization that “provides humanitarian aid to disadvantaged children around the world.” Sunflower Children is active in 16 countries, including Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Guinea, India, Kenya, South Africa, Nepal, Niger, Nicaragua, Peru, Romania, Guatemala, and the Philippines. It was founded nine years ago by model Helena Houdova and is based in New York City.