Last weekend, the Keep Memory Alive Charity Poker Tournament took place at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health near downtown Las Vegas. The annual event is hosted by Daniel Negreanu and Jack Binion, who was actually the defending champ.
The $800 buy-in event included a poker tournament, but also wine and spirit tastings, delectable food, entertainment, and a raffle with high-end prizes. The night attracted several luminaries, including a Nevada Supreme Court Justice, as well as several poker personalities including 2013 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Ryan Riess, Joey Ingram, poker agent Brian Balsbaugh, poker veteran Yosh Nakano, and emcee Sean McCormack.
Negreanu managed to make it all the way down the last nine players but lost a flip to become the first final table casualty.
The event – which was sponsored in part by Poker Royalty, CardPlayer Magazine, and El Dorado Cantini – awarded prizes to the top three finishers, and after Riess bubbled in fourth place, the remaining players were “in the money.” The third-place finisher won four VIP tickets to a Las Vegas Golden Knights Game, and that left Women in Poker Hall of Famer Terry King to do battle against Las Vegas retiree Greg Bruce.
The latter had a massive chip advantage and closed things out a short time later claiming the $10,000 cash prize. Meanwhile, King won a Palms & Sourthen Highlands prize package valued at $8,850 for finishing as the runner-up.
All proceeds from the night benefitted the Keep Memory Alive and Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, at Cleveland Clinic Nevada, which aims to find, fund, and facilitate the most effective and innovative research and caregiver programming for patients and their families. The Keep Memory Alive Event Center, designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, is located just two miles north of the Las Vegas Strip and just down the road from downtown’s Fremont Street district.
Check out some photos from the special night here:
*Images courtesy of Keep Memory Alive.
PR & Media Manager