Gaming News

Tampa Bay Downs to host celebrity poker event

TAMPA, Florida -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The Joyner-Walker Foundation is pleased to announce the poker location for the Par and Poker Celebrity Challenge for Charity, which takes place Super Bowl Week on January 29, 2009. Tampa Bay Downs' Silks Poker Room is set to host the No-Limit Texas Hold'em poker tournament following an 18-hole golf tournament at TPC Tampa Bay. The Joyner-Walker Foundation is bringing in some of the most respected poker professionals for the tournament, which is destined to be the largest celebrity tournament in Tampa Bay history, granting three seats to the World Series of Poker.

The Tampa Bay Downs' Silks Poker Room holds thirty poker tables and fifty plasma TVs, creating a perfect setting for the poker portion of the event. The newly-renovated poker room is considered a sporting and gaming paradise, hosting several single and multi-table tournaments with Limit and No-Limit cash games every day.

"After meeting with the co-founders of the Par and Poker Celebrity Challenge for Charity, I understand the great commitment of the Joyner-Walker Foundation to our community and the tournament in particular," said Patrick Murphy, Director of Poker Operations for Tampa Bay Downs. "We are thrilled to be hosting a poker event that gives back so much in a fun and entertaining way." While specific professional poker champions are still being determined, one thing is certain; amateur poker players are already ecstatic about the opportunity to play next to and possibly even beat one of the pros.

The Celebrity Challenge for Charity brings together professional athletes and Hollywood entertainers to raise money for the Joyner-Walker Foundation, as well as one local Tampa beneficiary. Unlike other Super Bowl events, Par and Poker is free to attend and open to the general public. The Foundation encourages the host city locals to spectate or volunteer.

While specific professional poker champions are still being determined, one thing is certain; amateur poker players are already ecstatic about the opportunity to play next to and possibly even beat one of the pros.

The Par and Poker Celebrity Challenge for Charity is one of the only Super Bowl events free and open to the public. The 2009 tournament will be held January 29, 2009 during Super Bowl week in Tampa, Florida. Professional athletes, stars from the world of entertainment, sponsors and guests will be competing for prizes, cash awards and bragging rights as they play the TPC Tampa Championship Golf Course with PGA Tour-like conditions. They will also be able to show their poker wit in one-of-the finest poker tournaments that Florida has to offer, destined to be the largest celebrity poker tournament in Tampa Bay history, in the Tampa Bay Downs Silks Poker Room. The Joyner-Walker Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing life skill programs to assist high school and college students in a way to prosper and be self-sufficient.

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