Charity Poker Tournament 2024
- Date Posted: Oct 2, 2024
The Salinas Valley Health Foundation’s first charity poker tournament was a huge success thanks to the generosity of Bankers Casino and the 44 players who signed up to help "Change Kids' Health and Change the Future!" In addition to the generosity and support of Bankers Casino, we're also grateful to ConnieJo Stubblefield (RE/MAX Empire Properties), who sponsored the event, and the numerous businesses who made in-kind donations.
The charity poker event raised $13,257 to benefit pediatric services and programs in the tri-county area, which included an incredibly generous fundraising match from Bankers Casino. In addition to their monetary support, Bankers Casino graciously provided the use of their facility and the support of their friendly and professional staff. We extend a special "thank you" to the incredible Casino Manager, JC, who ran the tournament beautifully. A big part of the success of this event is due to JC’s expertise and commitment to the cause.
We are grateful to every player who joined the fun and contributed to the successful fundraising event. The crowd included a mix of Salinas Valley Health employees and medical staff, regular Bankers Casino poker players, newcomers, and friends of the Foundation. A special thank you to Rick Hattori and his Omaha Poker group for connecting us to Bankers Casino, and for being among the first to sign up to play in the tournament. Rick is a regular at Bankers Casino, and the grandfather of the 2024 local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Champion, Jessica.
In addition to competing for the prize pot, players were also entered to win high-value raffle prizes donated by local businesses. Prizes were generously donated by Luigi’s (Gonzales, CA), Costco Wholesale (Salinas, CA), Trader Joe’s (Monterey, CA), Panda Express (Salinas, North Davis), and Ace Hardware (Salinas, S Main). .Outdoor Supply Hardware (Capitola, CA) donated the grand prize for the raffle, a beautiful Blackstone Griddle! Discounted electronic items were made possible thanks to the support of Walmart (Marina, CA).
We appreciate @Salinas_Chronicle for promoting the event and Agnes L from Salinas Valley Health for recruiting players.
Last, but certainly not least, congratulations to our tournament winner, Seamus K! We also congratulate Viet D for coming in 2nd place and Daniel P, from Salinas Valley Health, for taking 3rd place.
We look forward to collaborating with Bankers Casino for other charity poker events and fundraising ventures in the future.
