Yesterday, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) announced they would be hosting a fundraiser on August 26th, during the Democratic National Convention. The Convention begins on August 25th, where the Democratic Party will announce Barack Obama as the Democratic Nomination for the Presidency. The fundraiser will benefit paralyzed veterans and will take place at Coors Field in Denver.

Several celebrities and poker professionals are scheduled to appear at the event and try their luck during the charity poker tournament. The winner of the tournament will win a seat to the Main Event of the 2009 World Series of Poker. Ben Affleck, Barry Greenstein and Andy Block are confirmed to attend.

The event will begin with a reception at 9:30 pm at the club level of Coors Field, and thirty minutes later the poker tournament will begin. Individual spectator seats to the event start at $250 each and four levels of sponsorship can be purchased, allowing the buyer to play in the tournament.

Alfonse D’Amato, the Chairman of the PPA and former Senator of New York, stated this in yesterday’s press release: “PPA is honored to host this charity poker tournament and looks forward to raising a lot of money for these American heroes. This is a great opportunity to harness the popularity of the game of poker in order to raise much needed funds for those who have fought to protect our country and our individual freedoms – paralyzed vets.”

The Poker Players Alliance Director, John Pappas, told the Poker News Daily, that along with promoting “advocacy, one of the most important things that the Poker Players Alliance does is help raise funds for worthy causes.” This event should see a rather large turnout, as many supporters of Barack Obama should be in attendance at the Democratic National Convention, not to mention the many PPA members and poker supporters.


- 2008-08-13