At the upcoming Aruba Poker Classic, Ultimate Bet will hold a $200 rebuy Ante Up for Africa tournament. The tournament will begin at 7:00pm on Thursday, October 2nd. Poker News Daily has learned that actor Don Cheadle will appear at the event along with a variety of other players and celebrities that are still being determined.
A cocktail party will take place before the Ante Up for Africa tournament, which will be held at the Radisson Aruba Resort and Casino, the same location as the Aruba Poker Classic. It’s not the first time that the online poker room has raised money for Ante Up for Africa. In August, the site held six online tournaments during the weekend of August 15th in which all tournament fees were donated to the charity. Playing in those tournaments were Cheadle, Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Mark “P0ker H0” Kroon, Gary “Debo34” DeBernardi, Shawn “westtexasman” Rice, Tiffany Michelle, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and James “P0KERPR033” Campbell.
A $5,000 buy-in Ante Up for Africa tournament held at the Rio Hotel and Casino during the 2008 World Series of Poker was won by two-time WSOP bracelet winner John Hennigan. Others at the final table included Hellmuth, “Oceans 11” actor Casey Affleck, Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell, and actor Ray Romano. Duke and Cheadle served as the spokespersons for the event.
In other site news, UBAuctions.com, which offers Ultimate Bet members a chance to bid on prizes using their hard-earned Ultimate Points, is offering a variety of unique items that revolve around the Aruba Poker Classic. They include 18 holes of golf with Phil Hellmuth, a Harley Davidson Guided Tour of Aruba, room upgrades to a Plaza Suite, and Cocktails and Cigars at The Sopranos Piano Bar. Many of the auctions close on September 30th.
A new addition to Aruba this year will be a $2,100 buy-in tournament that starts on Wednesday, October 1st. The $5,000 buy-in Championship Event will be entering Day 2, but those players who were knocked out can take advantage of another high-stakes tournament held in the island nation; the $2,100 buy-in event is a two-day tournament. The Main Event will play down to a winner on Saturday, October 4th. Other poker tournaments taking place include daily $540 buy-in events plus continuous satellites to both the Main Event and $2,100 buy-in tournament.
Players will start with 10,000 chips in the $5,500 Main Event. Blind levels will be 90 minutes long until the final table, when they will be reduced to one hour. Tables will become six-handed when there are 36 players remaining. The blinds begin at 25-50 and antes kick in during Level 4, which is the second of two 100-200 blind levels. The final table is traditionally held outdoors, weather permitting, with one of the most beautiful backdrops on the face of the Earth.
This weekend, Ultimate Bet is holding a 50 Seat Aruba Classic Guaranteed. The tournament takes place on Saturday, September 13th at 5:30pm ET. The buy-in is $530 and 50 prize packages, each worth $8,500 ($5,500 buy-in plus $3,000 for travel expenses), will be given out. Satellites are also running constantly, so visit Ultimate Bet for the complete schedule.