Charity poker tourney features Ben Affleck, Tom Brady

Las Vegas Review-Journal

5 years ago

Tom Brady attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating t ... — Tom Brady attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "Camp: Notes on Fashion" exhibition on Monday, May 6, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Ben Affleck, Tom Brady, Matt Damon, Adam Sandler and other celebrities will participate in an online poker tournament Saturday to raise money for charity.

Proceeds will go to Feeding America, which runs a nationwide network of food banks that feeds 40 million people, according to its website. The tournament will start at 11 a.m. Pacific time and will be held on America’s Cardroom and livestreamed on Twitch, allowing fans to interact with the players.

Reported participants include actors Jason Bateman, Bryan Cranston, Jon Hamm, John Krasinski, Tobey Maguire, Aaron Paul and Sarah Silverman; singer Adam Levine; and poker players Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu.

Excited to announce that I have joined forces with @FeedingAmerica to raise money for folks who need it most. Join me and some familiar faces as we face off in a friendly online poker tournament. Watch live tomorrow from 11am PT. 100% of proceeds benefit Feeding America. pic.twitter.com/im3cuWYsCD

— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) April 10, 2020

Affleck said on Instagram that more than $1 million had already been raised.

The offshore sportsbook Bookmaker posted some “who will last longer” props on the tournament. Affleck is a -174 favorite over Damon (+138), Sandler is a -150 favorite over Brady (+120) and Maguire is a -200 favorite over Bateman (+158). Hellmuth is a -150 favorite over Affleck (+120).

Las Vegas relief fund

The online poker site Run It Once will host a tournament Saturday to raise money for low-income Las Vegas families that have been hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

Donations are being taken through a campaign on GiveDirectly. More than $25,000 has already been raised, according to the Run It Once website.

The 32-player heads-up tournament pits 16 poker pros against 16 people who donated to the cause.

The tournament starts at 8 a.m. PDT and will be livestreamed on Run It Once’s Twitch channel.

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.