'Ante Up for Africa' Set To Be a Star Studded Charity Affair

The charity fundraiser tournament known by the title ‘Ante Up for Africa’ continues to grow in size and stature and this year promises to be the biggest yet. The third annual competition is due to start on July 2, 2009 at the WSOP in the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino and has already attracted a glittering array of stars from entertainment as well as the poker world.
The $5,000 tournament, which raised over $2 million last year, will again be hosted by actor Don Cheadle and  poker pro Annie Duke, with the proceeds going to help the relief effort in Darfur, Sudan. Now entering its sixth year, the civil war has been responsible for over 400,000 deaths as well as creating over 3 million refugees, and the situation has been further compounded by the refusal of Sudan’s president Bashir to allow several of the major humanitarian agencies to provide relief inside his country as a response to the International Criminal Court’s issuing an arrest warrant for him for war crimes.
This, the biggest poker fundraiser in the world, provides a great opportunity for the public to mingle and play with celebrities from the world of entertainment, sport and poker and this year has attracted such names as Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Brad Garrett, Cedric The Entertainer, Charles Barkley, Danny Masterson, Hank Azaria, Herschel Walker, Jason Alexander, Kenny Smith, Marlon Wayans, Montel Williams, Reggie Miller, Tia Carrere, Sarah Silverman, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Cheryl Hines, Mekhi Phifer and Rob Schneider alongside poker professionals Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, Tiffany Michelle, Erik Seidel and Phil Hellmuth with more to be confirmed.
The Ante Up for Africa event is open free to the public and promises to be a glitzy, action packed event with the structure of the tournament allowing for a winner to be crowned in around 5 hours. It is hoped that the fundraiser will help to raise and maintain awareness of the plight of the Sudanese people and for those of you who are unable to attend the event or would like to learn more on how to help the aid effort in Darfur please visit www.enoughproject.org.