On Sept. 30, the Studz Poker Club hosted the second annual Jeff Conine Celebrity Poker Classic and raised $115K for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation, which underwrites the operations of the Conine Clubhouse, a home-away-from-home for families of children under care at the hospital.
The tournament attracted 268 players vying for the top prize of a seat to the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event. In the end, the final four players chopped the $7,500 first-place cash option for $1,875 each, then played on for the next top three prizes. First place went to Steve Zaffos of Weston.
Each table featured a sports celebrity, including ex-Dolphins Jim Jensen, Tony Nathan and Shawn Wooden, ex-Marlins Cliff Floyd and Preston Wilson and hockey stars Ed Jovanovski and Sean Hill.
Conine was pleased at the increase of 120 players over last year, and the additional $40,000 raised for his charity.“The clubhouse is my proudest accomplishment in South Florida, my legacy, because it’s real life,” Conine said. — Dave Lemmon
