By Ken Byron
poker tournaments are more popular than ever, hundreds of thousands of players gather all over the world to play the card game, but something that hasn't been as prevalent, however, is charity events that can draw big names and provide a way to raise funds for very deserving causes. Fortunately celebrities are using their popularity for a good cause. In the case of the first-annual Celebrity Poker Tournament at the Las Vegas Hilton, celebrities will get together next December 11th to play in an event on the benefit of the T.J. Martell Foundation. Britt Bockius, Tracy Byrd, Rodney Carrington, Lee Greenwood, Justin McBride, and Trent Willmon are among the names featured at this charity event. The event takes place during National Finals Rodeo week and will kick off at 11:00 a.m. with a charity auction. The $550 buy-in poker tournament will commence right after the auction, and it is limited to 150 players. Seats can be reserved by contacting the casino marketing department at the Las Vegas Hilton.
Rebuys and add-ons will be allowed throughout the first hour of play. Players will compete for a prize pool of $50,000 and other prizes. All rebuys, add-ons, and additional proceeds over the guaranteed prize pool will be donated to the T.J. Martell Foundation, an organization that raises funds in support of research for leukemia, cancer, and AIDS.
This unique charity poker event will feature the hottest rodeo stars and chart-topping country music artists, playing along side other celebrities and tournament participants, all competing for a share in.
History of Pai Gow Poker lies in the fascinating ancient Chinese game of Pai Gow. The original game of Pai Gow was played by the Chinese with tiles that were similar to dominoes. These tiles, or dominoes, were separated into groups by the Pai Gow dealer and then a roll of the dice determined which set of tiles belonged to which player. In the 1800's different versions of the Pai Gow game existed in China. As other games, Pai Gow is believed to have been brought into the United States in the 1800's, by Chinese immigrants who arrived to work in mines and on the railways. In Califonia, this chinese game changed its name from Pai Gow to Pai Gow Poker to get around gambling laws.