partypoker matching player contributions
Online poker room partypoker is hosting a charity poker tournament on Thursday, April 16 to help support the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The £50 ($63.09) event, which begins at 20:30 BST, is open only to UK residents and can be found by searching for “NHS” in the tournament lobby.
at least 50% of the prize pool will be taken out and donated to NHS Charities Together
“Poker players have a long and proud history of coming together to support charitable causes,” said partypoker managing director Tom Waters on the partypoker blog. “At this moment, that support has never been more needed.”
The tournament is rake-free and players are granted unlimited re-entries during the first twelve levels. After late registration closes, at least 50% of the prize pool will be taken out and donated to NHS Charities Together. partypoker will match that amount for the charity.
The UK has been hit hard by COVID-19. To date, it has had 93,873 confirmed cases of the virus and 12,107 confirmed deaths.
Organization helps guide charities that raise money for NHS
NHS Charities Together, formerly The Association of NHS Charities, is an organization comprised of 143 member charities, all of which raise funds for hospitals around the UK. There are more than 250 NHS charities in the UK overall, and combined, they donate £1 million ($1.26 million) to the NHS each day.
NHS Charities Together works with its member charities to help them develop and implement best practices, as well as representing the charities’ interests with stakeholders.
According to the NHS Charities Together website, its member charities have raised £457 million ($576 million) in the past year.
Big week for charity poker tournaments
As Tom Waters mentioned, poker players tend to band together in times of crisis. The current COVID-19 pandemic is no exception, as poker fans, poker pros, poker rooms, and celebrities have used poker as a vehicle to contribute to healthcare-related causes.
Poker pro Dan Smith launched a COVID-19 emergency drive through his Double Up Drive charitable organization. Double Up Drive has pledged $250,000 and is matching up to $500 of each donation to GiveDirectly to help households in Las Vegas.
Along with that, Phil Galfond’s Run It Once online poker room held a 32-player heads-up tournament for the same cause this past weekend. Galfond took a break from his challenge to participate in the event.
All In For Feeding America drew 65 celebrities, including Matt Damon, Bryan Cranston, Kevin Pollak, Jason Bateman, and Phil Hellmuth.
Actor Ben Affleck also hosted an online poker charity tournament over the weekend. All In For Feeding America drew 65 celebrities, including Matt Damon, Bryan Cranston, Kevin Pollak, Jason Bateman, and Phil Hellmuth. The event took place at Americas Cardroom and was streamed via Twitch, raising $2 million for the cause.
On Thursday, professional golfers, including names like John Daly, Butch Harmon, and Michelle Wie, will take to the virtual felts to support the MGM Resorts Foundation’s Employee Emergency Grant Fund. The tournament will be live streamed on both Twitch and YouTube starting at 12:00pm PST.