Charles Barkley to Gamble for Charity
06.20.2008 - Updated on 06.20.2008
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Charles Barkley is headed back to the tables in Las Vegas to play in a poker tournament about a month after pledging not to gamble. He says it’s all for charity.
The former NBA star is scheduled to play in a celebrity poker tournament at the 2008 World Series of Poker on July 2.
The "Ante Up for Africa" event is designed to raise money and awareness for the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. More than 300,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced since ethnic warfare began in 2003, according to the U.S. presidential envoy to Sudan.
Players in the poker tournament put up $5,000 to play, and are asked to donate at least half their winnings. The event raised more than $500,000 last year and finished with the top two players agreeing to pool their winnings and donate the full $350,000 to the cause. Of the field of 167, 18 players won money. [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3453084]
