Original November Niner Continues Charitable Streak
Dennis Phillips, who shot to fame last year when he headed to the Main Event Final table after the 117 day wait as chip leader, famously donated a proportion of his winnings to charity. That trend continues this year.
In three weeks the annual Ante Up For Africa charity tournament will hit the felts, but before that happens there is still plenty of charity to be seen as millions upon millions of dollars swap hands in Las Vegas.
Case one. Last week in Chicago, the Harrah’s Foundation – an organization founded in 2002 and funded by Harrah’s Entertainment – announced that they would be making a $1.1 million donation to the AARP Foundation, which is the charitable arm of the organization formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons.
The donation will assist seniors in areas such as Mississippi, New Orleans, New Jersey, New York, Phoenix, and Pittsburgh.
“As the U.S. population ages, care giving is becoming an increasingly important component in the lives of all Americans, particularly as they approach retirement”, said Robin Talbert, the AARP Foundation’s president.
“With the help of this generous gift from the Harrah’s Foundation, the AARP Foundation is in a unique position to help caregivers fulfil their responsibilities and employers create environments that support them.”
Going back to Dennis Phillips (pictured left), the PokerStars pro famously donated parts of his 3rd place $4 million to the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the Pujols Family Foundation.
This year he will include Phil Gordon’s charitable cause, “Bad Beat on Cancer” as well. As with so many of the high earning poker stars, his good will does not stop there.
Last Thursday, Phillips took part in the inaugural “Shuffle Up For Poker Gives” charity tournament that was a part of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame weekend. He also donated ten seats to media members for the Hall’s induction ceremony dinner last Friday night. On July 13th he will host the All Star Celebrity Bash in St Louis.
The generosity of poker players is no new thing. The likes of Annie Duke, Hellmuth, Lederer and Negreanu all regularly organise and donate to charity. It would appear Dennis Phillips is the latest big game player to follow suit.
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