Avengers Shuffle Up and Deal for Charity
Mike Chanpong
Thursday March 22, 2007
Included in the $100 buy-in fee was lunch, drinks, and the chance for participants to play poker against many Avengers players, including quarterback Sonny Cumbie, wide receiver/defensive back Kevin Ingram, kicker Remy Hamilton, defensive back James Bethea, and lineman Silas Demary.
PADRES celebrity spokesperson Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) made an appearance at the tournament, sharing a poker table with Cumbie and Hamilton. Her entrance attracted a flood of paparazzi-style flashbulbs from a barrage of cameras, but once she took her seat it was all down to business for the over 100 card players in attendance. Robert Thompson (of Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown fame) boomed "Shuffle up and deal!" into his microphone, and with that announcement the tournament began.
Four hours later, tournament winner Andrea Iturbe took home the Grand Prize, an all-expense paid trip for two to Las Vegas to see the Avengers take on the Las Vegas Gladiators on May 6. The benefit was a huge success, with over $10,000 raised for PADRES and fans and players alike in good spirits knowing that they helped raise money for charity and had fun doing it.
Matt Vanderlip of Studio City enjoyed the tournament atmosphere and the company. "It was great to be able to come out and play poker against some of the guys on the Avengers and support a great cause,” said Vanderlip, who just missed making the cut for the final table. “Regardless of who wins, the charity is what it’s all about.”
Thomas Whitebirch of nearby Encino, California was seated at the same table as Kevin Ingram for most of the tournament. “It was fun to play against him,” he said of the Avengers star. “He’s a good poker player too. We talked about how he’s from Philadelphia and he used to play in Atlantic City a little bit.”
Overall, Whitebirch was certainly glad he participated. “It was just a blast. I can’t wait to do this again next year.”
For more information on PADRES Contra El Cancer, visit www.iamhope.org
Mike Chanpong is a freelance writer living in Hollywood, CA. In addition to
sportswriting, he also works in television production. This is his second
year covering the Los Angeles Avengers for ArenaFan.
