Poker News

Online Poker Community Donates $1.5 Million to Haiti Earthquake Survivors

The online poker community has raised $1.5 million for victims of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti earlier this month, according to a press release distributed by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA).

Full Tilt Poker saw 22,785 donations come in from concerned members of the industry for total donations of $293,211. In a gracious showing, the world’s second largest online poker site doubled contributions from its patrons for a total donation of $586,423, or over one-third of the figure cited by the PPA. Aid for Haiti play and no-play tournaments were held on Full Tilt Poker and a special user account was created to accept incoming transfers benefiting the relief efforts.

As expected, PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato, a former three-term Republican Senator from New York, was elated to see the giving mood of the online poker community. In a press release distributed by the lobbying organization this week, D’Amato commented, “Like the rest of the world, the poker community is eager to do anything it can to aid Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake. I applaud PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Cake Poker for providing poker players across the globe an easy way to make a contribution. The generosity online poker players are showing makes me even more proud to be part of this community.”

PPA Executive Director John Pappas echoed D’Amato’s sentiments in an interview with the online poker forum PocketFives.com, calling the massive effort “a tribute to the generosity of the poker community.” Pappas added that the seven-digit donation mark does not include private contributions made by poker pros and other members of the industry to organizations like the Red Cross and UNICEF, which hit the ground in Haiti shortly after the epic January 12th tremor.

The PPA revealed that 50,000 online poker players have donated a total of $760,000, an average of about $15 each. With online poker sites matching the funds dollar-for-dollar, the total amount generated surpasses $1.5 million. On PokerStars, donations are being accepted until January 31st at Noon ET. No-play Haiti Earthquake Relief tournaments have buy-ins ranging from $1 to $1,000. Text found on PokerStars’ website succinctly explains, “You will not need to play an actual tournament; instead, all of the 'entry fees' go straight to the fund.”

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, also created a special player account called “Haiti Fund.” Users can transfer funds to the account and PokerStars will match all money raised for the relief effort. The website, which has campaigned for a variety of charitable causes like Ante Up for Africa over the years, reminded its clientele, “PokerStars has been quick to facilitate this after previous disasters, and once again it is giving you an easy way to donate cash.”

Meanwhile, Cake Poker, a USA-friendly site that features Lee Jones as its Poker Room Manager, is taking donations until Midnight ET on January 31st. Five “holding tanks” were created for players to donate to the cause in $5, $25, $100, $200, and $500 increments. Past charity efforts by Cake Poker include involvement in the Aces and Angels Celebrity Poker Tournament and Oregon’s West Side Poker Club.

Other sites, including RedKings, UB.com, Absolute Poker, and DoylesRoom held poker tournaments last week to raise money for the cause. On the CEREUS Network, 717 players turned out for a $5 rebuy benefiting earthquake victims. In addition, customers on the Network’s two sites, UB.com and Absolute Poker, can donate their player points in each room’s store. On DoylesRoom, a special Haiti Bounty saw Academy Award nominee Mickey Rourke hit the felts.

A magnitude 5.9 aftershock hit Haiti shortly after and the Red Cross noted that three million people may have been affected. We’d like to salute members of the poker community who donated.

Additional Haiti Earthquake Relief Online Poker Tournaments Announced

This week, members of the online poker community wishing to donate to victims of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti last week can take advantage of several tournaments being held across cyberspace.

Today, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook Haiti, the strongest aftershock to date according to the Associated Press. Roughly 200,000 people may have died due to the original quake last week and 1.5 million people, or nearly 20% of the country’s population, are now homeless. The Associated Press reported that 40 aftershocks have rumbled through the island nation. On the magnitude 6.1 tremor that hit on Wednesday, a geophysicist told the American news service, "Aftershocks sometimes die out very quickly. In other cases they can go on for weeks, or if we're really unlucky it could go on for months."

On Wednesday, UB.com, which makes its home on the CEREUS Network, will host a $5 rebuy online poker tournament to raise funds for the victims. The event gets underway at 20:30 ET and the field is capped at 750 players. In a generous gesture, UB.com officials will match the entirety of the prize pool and then donate the sum to the Red Cross Haiti Disaster Relief Fund. In addition, $10,000 in prizes will be on the line, consisting of entries to Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) tournaments and satellites. The charity poker tournament is dubbed “Play for Haiti” and can be found in the UB.com lobby. The site happily accepts players from the United States.

Also hosting a charity event on Wednesday night is DoylesRoom, which resides on the USA-facing Cake Poker Network. DoylesRoom is running the “Haiti Relief Celebrity Bounty,” taking the place of its regularly scheduled Bounty tournament. Those in the field will include site namesake Doyle Brunson, “The Wrestler” actor Mickey Rourke, Brunson 10 member Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, and “The Mad Genius of Poker” Mike Caro. The tournament kicks off at 9:30pm ET and DoylesRoom is matching all bounty money won and donating the total to relief efforts. In addition, DoylesRoom will ship any first-time player’s $27.50 buy-in to charity.

Ongame Network site Betsafe is offering a $5 tournament called “Help Haiti” on Wednesday at 20:45 CET. Unlimited rebuys will be permitted during the first hour and Betsafe will donate the funds to charity. A press release distributed by the site explains, “Betsafe will match the fee generated and we guarantee to give a minimum of $1,000. There is no maximum of the amount that we will match, so make sure to register for the tournament and help the victims of Haiti!” To sweeten the pot, Betsafe officials have added three $200 Grand Series of Poker (GSOP) event tickets to the prize pool, or $600 total. Other online poker rooms on the mammoth Ongame Network include Hollywood Poker, PokerLoco, and RedKings.

Finally, the Microgaming Network, which has recently tried to curb datamining by not allowing observed hand histories to be stored on a player’s computer, is holding a €10 + €10 buy-in tournament on Friday, January 22nd. The €10 juice will be donated to the Haitian Health Foundation and players can sign up for the event by visiting any Microgaming Network site like Betway, GNUF, Ladbrokes, Nordic Bet, PokerTime, and Unibet. The event issues its virtual “Shuffle up and deal” command at 6:30pm GMT. A press release distributed by Microgaming notes, “Over 92 percent of funds collected by Haitian Health Foundation go directly towards services for the poor, so players can be assured that donations generated from the tournament will be used to maximum benefit.” Neither the Microgaming nor Ongame Networks accept players from the United States.

These tournaments have complimented efforts at other major online poker sites like Full Tilt, PokerStars, and Cake Poker, each of which has reached into its database of players to give to the cause. Play in the Haiti relief tournaments taking place this week across some of the world’s largest sites.

Beat the Brunsons on Doyle’s Room Every Monday Night

A brand new tournament unveiled on the popular online poker site Doyle’s Room challenges players to Beat the Brunsons… literally. The tournament takes place every Monday night at 9:30pm ET and awards up to a $100,000 bounty for eliminating members of the Brunson clan. The high-stakes event comes with a buy-in of just $11.

Everyone knows the legendary Doyle Brunson, who plays under the screen name “Tex_Dolly” on his own online poker site. If you send Doyle packing from the Beat the Brunsons tournament, you’ll take home $1,000. Eliminate Todd Brunson, who appropriately plays as “Todd_Brunson,” and you’ll see your bankroll on Doyle’s Room balloon by $500. Knock out Pam “Queen_Kitty” Brunson and $250 will be coming your way. Doyle’s nephew, Ken (who goes by “Tex_Ken” on the virtual felts) has a $250 bounty on his head, as does Todd’s wife Anjela “Russian_Chick” Brunson. Beyond the five members of the Brunson family, you’ll also receive $5 for every person you knock out of the tournament.

A variety of unique cash rewards are up for grabs in the weekly spectacle. If a player can knock out every member of the Brunson family, they’ll take home a $100,000 jackpot. In addition, if a player knocks out Doyle with his signature hand, 10-2, they’ll receive $5,000 for their efforts. If two Brunsons go at it and one is eliminated, everyone seated at the table when the melee occurred will receive their $11 buy-in back. In addition, being ousted from the Beat the Brunsons tournament by Doyle himself results in the following prize, according to text found on the site: “Getting knocked out of a tournament by Doyle Brunson is nothing to be ashamed of; it's happened to the best of them. If Tex_Dolly takes you out, we'll send you a free copy of one of his best-selling books so you can sharpen your game and come back for another shot.”

The tournament also features a traditional prize pool, so its winner will take home a sizable sum of money in addition to any bounties they receive. The champion also scores a $500 payday into their Doyle’s Casino account. The tournament kicks off at 9:30pm ET every Monday. Players start with 2,000 chips and blinds escalate every 15 minutes in the No Limit Hold’em tournament. If $11 isn’t within your bankroll, Doyle’s Room has you covered. Standard sit and go, speed, multi-table, and turbo satellites starting at $1.10 are available. $5.50 heads-up satellites are also an option, with the winner moving on to the Beat the Brunsons event on Monday nights.

April 27th marks the fourth time that the Beat the Brunsons tournament has been held. It compliments the highly popular Bounty event, which takes place every Thursday at 9:30pm ET. The Bounty comes with a price tag of $27.50 and boasts a rotating series of celebrities. Knock out one bounty and you’ll win $500. Send two bounties packing and you’ll score $5,000. Knock out all three bounties and you’ll find your Doyle’s Room bankroll grow by $25,000. All first-time Bounty players receive their buy-in back regardless of whether or not they cash. This week’s bounties include Doyle Brunson, Hoyt Corkins, and “The Mad Genius of Poker” Mike Caro. Recent celebrity guest bounties have included “The Wrestler” star Mickey Rourke, “The Sopranos” actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and “Entourage” personality Kevin Connolly.

Doyle’s Room makes its home on the Cake Poker Network, which accepts customers from the United States. Other sites on the Network include Lock Poker, Players Only, Poker Host, and Red Star Poker. According to traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, the Network is the tenth largest worldwide by cash game volume with a seven day running average of 1,580 players.

Mickey Rourke Featured in DoylesRoom Poker Tournament

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