NHL Hockey Team Antes Up for Poker
by Bodog Poker | Jan 11 2010
Professional athletes have always enjoyed
playing poker. There have been a few big-name athletes that have made a mark on the game, while most usually only play in home games and charity events. Organizations all over the world are using the game to raise money for charity because not only does the charity make money, but the players all have a ton of fun playing the events.
This month an
NHL hockey team hosted a charity event that consisted of team alumni and fans playing for prizes and a chance to meet their favorite players. The event was played at the Nokia Plaza at L.A. Live.
The L.A. Kings hosted the event last Saturday that included former Kings Marty McSorley, Ian Turnbull, Daryl Evans, Glen Murray, Brad Norton, Pete Demers and all-time leading scorer Luc Robitaille.
The event started at 4 PM with players paying $200 to enter. All who put up the cash got to rub elbows with some of the biggest names in hockey, as well as getting two premier level tickets to the Kings vs. the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 9, a $25 Food Voucher for ESPN Zone, a commemorative photo, and $50 free play from San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, who was sponsor for the tournament.
Besides the freebies for entering there were some prizes up for grabs for the players who went deepest into the event. The best prizes in the tournament included two tickets to a Kings game, dinner for two in the San Manuel Club with a prize pack, VIP passes for a game, post-game meet and greet with the team, and an L.A. Kings autographed jersey. All the money will go to charity and there were no cash prizes awarded.
This is not the first time that NHL poker players have been featured in a charity event. Just this past summer NHL players played in the NHL Charity Shootout event at the WSOP during the time that the NHL Awards were being held in Las Vegas.
ESPN covered four hours of the action, which included hockey stars the likes of Jeremy Roenick (San Jose Sharks), Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks), Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals), Mike Richards (Philadelphia Flyers), Sheldon Souray (Edmonton Oilers), Steve Sullivan (Nashville Predators), and Kris Versteeg (Chicago Blackhawks). NHL legends Pat LaFontaine, Cam Neely, and Luc Robitaille also played, and a couple of
WSOP champions named Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, showed up as well.
Saturday's event was sponsored by the San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino, and all proceeds went to benefit Kings Care and the Kings Alumni Foundation. The tournament was a big success and is expected to become an annual event to promote the team and help less fortunate individuals in the L.A. area.
