At least $1m to charity
Celebrities and poker are joining forces for charity once again as PokerStars hosts the Stars CALL for Action tournament at 2pm ET on May 9. Dozens of celebrities will be on hand with webcams activated as James Hartigan and PokerStars Ambassador Lex Veldhuis announce the action via live streams on Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube.
PokerStars is donating $10,000 for every celebrity who participates, with plans to make the total prize pool $1m, regardless of how many play. There is no buy-in for the event, no real money at risk by anyone. Half of the prize pool will go to CARE International, as will donations from viewers. The celebrities that make the money in the Stars CALL for Action tournament will choose which charities will receive their prizes.
donating $10,000 for every celebrity who participates, with plans to make the total prize pool $1m
The poker room will also pick one non-celebrity to play in the event for every star who participates. Each group will play in their own tournament and then combine once down to two tables. Non-famous individuals who cash will have their winnings donated to CARE International.
Celebrities who fail to reach the money will get to play in a side tournament. The winner of that contest will get to choose where 10% of the prize pool is donated.
Brainchild of Hank Azaria, Andy Bellin
The idea for the charity event came from actor/comedian Hank Azaria, star of the hit television comedy Brockmire and the voice of dozens of characters on The Simpsons, and author/screenwriter Andy Bellin, who wrote Poker Nation.
The two poker buddies were planning a live charity poker tournament in New York, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, that idea was out. Bellin told the PokerStars blog:
We’ve both been working really hard to think of how we can lend our various skill sets to helping people.”
He added that they were committed to the idea “particularly right now in a time where charitable giving has to be way down.” Bellin got in touch with PokerStars and the poker room offered up a million bucks for the event. The two men contacted their celebrity friends and everybody said they were in.
“I know if somebody approached me with this I would be in it in a heartbeat,” said Azaria. “So far anybody who enjoys playing poker at all — and even some folks who don’t — have agreed to play.”
Massive star power
Celebrities have turned out at charity online poker tournaments in recent weeks, including one organized by Ben Affleck for Feeding America and another by Discover CEO David Zaslav for the Mount Sinai COVID-19 Response Fund.
As far as the sheer number and stature of celebrities go, however, Stars CALL for Action will probably top them all. The first group that Azaria and Bellin called were the members of their regular home poker game: Michael Cera, Billy Crudup, David Schwimmer, Eric Bogosian, and Rounders co-screenwriter Brian Koppelman. Then, they got Ed Norton to commit.
“So there’s going to be like a mini-Rounders reunion with Ed and Brian, and we’re hopefully going to bring in Matt Damon who likes to play in these,” said Azaria. “And maybe John Turturro and John Malkovich as well…”
“It just speaks to the generous nature of everybody right now,” noted Bellin. “But also…Hank is genuinely well liked throughout Hollywood, which I’ve found awfully surprising.”
