Hundreds of Wall Street financial execs and poker fans enjoyed an entertaining evening at the Gotham Hall in Manhattan last week to railbird or play in a “Take ‘Em To School” poker tournament convened to raise funds for the Education Reform Now charity.
Sponsors of the tournament were mainly Wall Street firms, although Amaya Gaming was among them.
The entertaining master of ceremonies at the event was 14-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who presided over a successful sold-out tournament that ultimately raised $850,000 for the organisation.
Education Reform Now is an advocacy charity committed to making sure all children can access high-quality public education.
The event was co-chaired by Michael Sabat, who works in equity-derivatives sales and trading on Wall Street, and Whitney Tilson, the founder of Kase Capital.
At the tables were respected poker players like Marc Lasry, David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, Boaz Weinstein of Saba Capital, Paul Britton of Capstone, and John Petry of Sessa Capital.
Poker professionals in action with them included Phil Ivey, Andy Frankenberger, Erik Seidel, Layne Flack, and Vanessa Selbst.
Sports celebrities such as former NBA stars Allan Houston, Charles Smith, and John Starks were all there too, and “American Pie” actress and respected poker player Shannon Elizabeth came close to winning the tournament, finishing second to Postable.com co-founder Scott Potash.