Celebrity Poker Tournament to Raise Money for One Step Closer Foundation
Hollywood celebrities and poker pros will be joining forces for a good cause at the first annual "All in for CP," a celebrity charity no-limit hold'em poker tournament to be held August 3rd at the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood, California. Money raised at the tournament will benefit the One Step Closer Foundation, a non-profit organization whose goal is to help those suffering from Cerebral Palsy.
Slated to attend the tournament are 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold, WSOP bracelet winner Jennifer Tilly, Oscar winner Ben Affleck, Emmy winner Sam Simon, talk show host Montel Williams, comedians and SNL alums Colin Quinn and Norm MacDonald, musician Jerry Cantrell, BMX stunt rider Dennis McCoy, and former Playboy Miss February 1999, Stacy Fuson. The tournament is open to the public and those wishing to play can either preregister at allinforcp.com or register in person on the day of the event.
The tournament will begin at noon on Saturday with a $500 buy-in and unlimited $100 rebuys for the first 90 minutes. 50 percent of the proceeds will go to the charity and 50 percent will go into the prize pool for the players. In addition to the poker tournament, there will be a silent auction held during the event with such unique entertainment packages as the "Ray Romano Vegas Package" which includes a trip to Vegas and a two-night stay at the Mirage to see Ray Romano's show and the "Brad Garrett 'Til Death Package" which includes show memorabilia, tickets to a taping, and tickets to Brad Garrett's upcoming stand-up show at the Mirage. For the poker fans, there will be a Doyle Brunson autographed cowboy hat for auction and entry into an upcoming charity poker tournament.
The One Step Closer Foundation (OSCF) was started in 2007 by Jacob Zalewski, who was born with cerebral palsy, to ease the lives of those suffering from CP as well as support researchers in the diagnosis and treatment of CP. According to a Houston Chronicle story earlier this year, the 25-year-old Zalewski has been surrounded by poker all his life thanks to his father, Hertzel Zalewski, a professional poker player. The younger Zalewski had the idea of organizing a poker tournament to raise money for CP research and treatment, after hearing about the success of the first Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament. He credits "The Simpsons" co-creator Sam Simon, a co-sponsor of the August 3rd tournament, for helping making his idea come true.
