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Charity Poker Festival a Success

CLEVELAND, Ohio – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Nautica Charity Poker Festivals hosted by the Cleveland Police Athletic League (PAL) proved to be a success with the well-publicized events attracting thousands of visitors, and most important, generating substantial income for the charity.

PAL hosted the first two Festivals, which ran for eight days over the past two weeks and realized over $120,000 in income. After expenses, PAL will have gained more than $60,000 in net income from fundraising that reached out to new people as a source of revenue. Officials estimated the Festivals drew over four thousand people to downtown Cleveland.

"I would like to thank the thousands of people that helped our cause, from all of the Texas Hold 'Em players to the many volunteers that were so generous with their time," noted Bob Kumazec, Executive Director of PAL. "The money generated by these festivals was desperately needed and will create a lot of happiness for deserving kids around Cleveland," he added.

The Nautica Charity Poker Festivals consist of 12 four-day festivals featuring Texas Hold 'Em played in tournament and open-play format, inside an air-conditioned Festival Center at the Nautica Entertainment Center. The Festivals are held Thursdays to Sundays and run throughout the summer. Winners of tournaments held at the past two Festivals were awarded cash prizes of over $20,000 with a $2,400 cash prize won on Sunday. In addition, thousands of dollars were won in open-play cash games. While players keep their cash winnings, each Festival is hosted by a qualified charity that receives proceeds in the form of hourly seat fees and concession income.

"This has been a phenomenal experience for everyone involved," said Dave Grunenwald, Vice President of Development/Leasing for Jacobs Investments, which owns the Nautica Entertainment Complex. "Feedback from poker players has been really positive; they had an enjoyable time. PAL benefited by the publicity and money generated by the fundraising, and even the volunteers who worked countless hours left the Festivals knowing they helped a tremendous cause. The power of these volunteers was awesome," added Grunenwald. < Gaming News