In this era of poker, 671 players is an excellent turnout for any event at a brick-and-mortar poker room. But when it’s 671 players coming out to not only put some money in their pockets, but to show a lot of love to charity, it’s an even more astonishing number.
It doesn’t hurt that at Daytona Beach Kennel Club’s Deep Stack Charity Classic on April 27 you had some of the biggest names in poker lending a helping hand for a great cause. The event had not one but two World Series of Poker Main Event winners in Phil Hellmuth and Greg Merson plus the voice of ESPN’s poker broadcast Norman Chad.
Merson is a young pro who has two WSOP bracelets to his name, but the real star of the show was Hellmuth, who showed why he deserves his spot on the Mount Rushmore of poker. The 13-time bracelet-winner ended up finishing third overall.
The winner was local player Robert Hatter, who not only gets the good feeling that comes along with helping others but a bit of an ego boost from weaving through the minefield of 670 players. Then on top of that he went toe-to-toe with one of the greatest players to ever touch the felt.
The event racked up more than $80K in cash and prizes as the final table earned a trip to Vegas. “Ms. Amy” Alvarez, tournament director at DBKC, was happy with the tournament.
“It was a great event,” she said. “It’s awesome to see so many people come out to support such a great cause. There’s nothing that shines a brighter light on the poker community than when we show the world the good things we can do together.”
Ante Up’s Scott Long was in attendance and you can listen to his assessment of the successful charity event on Ante Up’s award-winning weekly pokercast atanteupmagazine.com/pokercast .
Ante Up has been proud to be a media partner of the Deep Stack Charity Classic for five years.
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The field never has failed to double the guarantee, so it’s always a good opportunity for locals to take their first step down the long road of being a pro player.
The weekends still are the best time at bestbet, especially when it comes to high hands. There will be a special $1K with $500 table share on May 31.
Check out our Where to Play pages in the back of the magazine or visit bestbetjax.com for details on its upcoming tournaments and promotional events.
— Email Charles at anteupcharles@gmail.com.
