two more charity tourneys added at pokerstars

As of this writing, there are 200 people registered in the $5 tournament on September 12, and 79 people in the $20 tournament for September 14. Math is hard, but I think that means that, within just a few hours, poker players have already contributed $3620, which is actually $7240 once PokerStars matches the contributions.
That.
Is.
Awesome.
But check this out! Due to overwhelming demand, PokerStars has added two more tournaments:

  • September 15, 2005 @ 9:30 PM EDT — $50
  • September 16, 2005 @ 9:30 PM EDT — $100

I will, of course, have prizes for the player who knocks me out in each of the new tournaments, as well. Thank you so much to everyone who has signed up.

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36 thoughts on “two more charity tourneys added at pokerstars”

  2. I have a sister that was evacuated from New Orleans just before Katrina struck. Her soon-to-be husband lives in Slidel, which is just outside of N.O. We heard they aren’t going to be allowed back in until Friday, so as of this moment, he doesn’t know if he has a job or even a home still. Anyone that is so willing to help those whose lives have totally been ripped out from under them is…I don’t have the words.
    Thank you.

  6. I am going to try and get around the bank issue. I signed up with NeTeller but there was some kind of error on the email link…plus my legal name isn’t the same as what’s on my bank account because I haven’t switched it yet…can’t do that until next week but as soon as I do I plan to sign up for at leat the $5 and $20 (if possible because of time).

  7. I’m not a stellar poker player; actally, I suck balls…so I would be more than happy to lose out in a poker tourney where my losses would turn into someone’s gain. I’ve given money to the Red Cross here in Seattle, but playing a game of poker in order to donate money is far more entertaining than mailing in a check. This is a truly brilliant idea. Thanks for the info, Wil. You are the i-ching.

  8. I ask this here only because I can’t find any reference to it at PokerStars: Is it possible to play on a Mac? All I see there is a PC version.

  12. I’ve signed up for both, and even managed to get the following days off work so I can actually play in each tournament. Now I just have to stay awake till 2.30…lot’s of coffee for me those days I think!!
    My ID on PokerStars is whoisspain so if any WWdN readers are on my table it would be really cool to hear from you.
    Chris

  13. Already registered for the $20 tourney Wil, hope to see you at the tables!
    I hope to earn myself a book or two, as well 😉
    PokerStars ID — SeedyV (for those who cared)

  14. I’ll register for the $5 and $20 tournaments when I get home tonight — ID is NickelJR, although the odds that I will be playing long are not good, given my level of skill. Any WWdN readers at my table say “hi” quickly, or you might miss me.

  16. if i can find a PC to camp out on during one of those times, I’m in, since PokerStars doesn’t seem to be hip on the Mac scene.
    but i also posted about this on my own blog, trying to help spread the word to fellow poker junkies and wanna-help-ers. Thanks again, Wil, for getting this thing moving and reaching out to help. you rule. Jess

  18. That is so incredibly awesome.
    I’m going to register tonight!
    *waits for people to gang up “Hey! lets beat Katrina!”*
    hmm.
    yeah. I think my craptacular poker skills on top of the name irony will have me last all of 2 hands, but hey, its for a good cause! thanks for giving us a chance to help out!

  19. My parents and my ex wife’s grandparents were in the path, and none of them have been heard from yet. It’s all I can do right now not to lose my mind. This is a wondeful thing for Pokerstars to do and I”m proud to be playing in it.
    I’m signing up for the $5 and $20 events.I play on pokerstars every day anyway, and if at all possible I will play in all the tournaments they put together for it.

  20. I’m going to try to get in on the cheaper tourneys if there are any slots left open.. only wish I had the money help out with the bigger ones right now. 🙁
    I will be looking forward to playing with Kat and Dave though 😉

  21. This is a wonderful thing that you are doing Wil – you are a truly great person.
    Veronica & Eric, my family will keep you & your family in their thoughts and prayers.
    I have posted this on my blog (not that I get as much traffic as Wil does) in hopes that someone will see it that did not see it here.
    Good luck everyone!

  22. Just signed up for the 5, 20, and 50 tourneys. What you and Pokerstars are doing is really awesome and I am glad I can participate. PS ID is pcgeeknh, look forward to talking to other WWDNers out there. Good luck to all.

  24. I was reading the archives from September of 2004 and came across this post about Wil’s first foray into a real $ poker game at the Mirage. It gave me chills.
    Wil wrote:
    “Our new dealer is quite friendly. He’s Rob, from North Dakota, but he went to college in New Orleans, and he’s really worried about Ivan.
    As soon as he sits down, he says, “Did you all hear about Ivan? It’s going to make landfall right over New Orleans.” He shakes his head, “Man, that city is already twenty-two feet below sea level, and the storm surge will be over forty feet.” He looks around the table. “Everything that’s not brick or stone in that city could be gone in the morning.”
    “I thought Ivan was bearing down on Florida,” I say.
    “Nope, it turned again. New Orleans at four a.m.”
    “Jesus.” Again I mark how lucky I am to be here and not there.”
    Strange how the only thing different about what happened is that the name of the hurricane was different.
    Rachel

  25. Wil,
    I have to say that I think this thing you’ve gotten together with the PokerStars.com site is amazing. It’s incredible to see you actively using your popularity and connections to help people in need. I wish we had more people in this world like you, who are willing to try and do what they can to help. You’re an inspiration, really. I guess I’ll “see” (electronically speaking) you at the tourney!
    Cheers!
    -Jayel

  27. It’s great that there are private groups like PokerStars which are willing to step in when the US government fails so miserably.
    What I find amazing, though, is precisely how miserably the feds are failing right now in their duty to assist American citizens in need. Current estimates suggest that there are still somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people within the New Orleans city limits–most of them running low on food and water, if they have any at all.
    So what’s the government’s priority? Stopping looters and ever-so-slowly getting people out of the city at a best-case rate of 15,000 a day, meaning that even though food isn’t necessarily an immediate issue, between 20,000 and 70,000 people may die of thirst if they weren’t able to stockpile sufficient water before all hell broke loose….
    WTF? Haven’t these people ever heard of the West Berlin airlift? Don’t they remember the tons upon tons of food dropped on Afghanistan prior to the invasion in an attempt to encourage goodwill among the locals? Is there any good reason they can’t do something similar in New Orleans?
    The Superdome is a BIG target–it shouldn’t be hard to find, fly over, and drop tens or hundreds of thousands of MREs from a low, slow C-130. Yeah, some would break. Quite a few may land on roofs or in water and never be eaten. Someone might even get hit on the head by a cheese sandwich or a bottle of Evian. That would still be infinitely preferable to the current situation of dehydration and slow starvation.
    And I’m not suggesting that this should be done INSTEAD of evacuating people. It should be done IN CONJUNCTION WITH the evacuation. Will either of them be done successfully, though?
    Probably not, if things continue to be coordinated and prioritized as piss-poorly as they have so far….

  29. Wil,
    Just signed up for both the $5 and $20 tourneys, see that there is already $13k in the tourney pools.
    This is an AWSOME thing you’re doing, you SO f’n rock!!!!!!!

  30. I have not been able to tear my eyes away from the TV. I feel like I should do something but we are a paycheck to paycheck family. So I pray and I explain what happened to my kids and We pray. Thank you Wil for kicking the relief effort up a notch or three. Thanks for being the kind of guy who would help because he can and not because he thinks it would boost his image. You are a GEEK among men!
    P.S. loved the books! Peace Bro!
    BRIAN

  33. psycoma,
    Helicopters attempting to land and distribute food or pick up people were being shot at, and their crews were admittedly in danger…but I’m talking about taking loaded-down C-130 cargo planes, opening the back, and literally saturating the city with relief supplies. Just given the amount of freight that can be dumped by a plane that size, the risk to the pilots would be far less than that to the helicopter pilots (who are forced to make many, many more trips to transport an equivalent mass of food/water/etc.)

  34. So now we have ‘Shoot to Kill’ orders for LOOTERS! Has everyone lost their minds?!?! Let’s just hope those kids/soldiers with their M-16’s don’t pull those triggers first!!
    Anyhow Wil, I just signed up for PokerStars, been trying to teach myself Texas Hold ’em and have signed myself up for the $5 and $20 Tourneys–I’m gunning for you WW!! (That’s just my way of saying please take my money!)
    As of my sign-up, there is a total of $15,956 in Buy-in’s so that should bring the match up to $31,912! Not bad for just a few days!

  35. I have to agree with JSc on this one.. its not like we haven’t done similar relief efforts in that manner for other countries.. and yet we cant do it for our own people? I am very dissappointed in the governments slow response and lack of effective action so far. Sorry to go off topic here you know I don’t do that often but its hard to hold back when there is such a great need and our government is failing in its role so miserably.

  36. Hey Wil,
    Sent you some info on an interview with a local radio morning show that wants to help spread the word about your tourneys. Lemme (and everybody here) know if you work something out. Trying to spread the word. 🙂
    Troy

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