Hollywood Tournament Raises $44,000 for Cerebral Palsy Charity

Lance Bradley | August 7, 2008 at 6:20 pm

A star-studded field turned out to the Hollywood Park Casino last weekend to help raise money for the One Step Closer Foundation.

Poker pros Jamie Gold and Barry Greenstein were joined at the felt by former talk show host Montel Williams, X-games BMXer Dennis McCoy and Dancing with the Stars phenom Shannon Elizabeth in raising money for the non-profit, charitable organization whose main goal is to ease, as much as possible, the lives of those who suffer from Cerebral Palsy.

The tournament, named All In for CP, is the brainchild of Jacob Zalewski, a Cerebral Palsy sufferer who works closely with the charity to help others suffering from the disease.

“It was an amazing event,” said Zalewski. “I still can’t believe that this day came after a year in the making. I am very humbled by the turnout - it was more than I thought it would be and I hope that each year it gets bigger and better.”

The tournament had a $500 buy-in with unlimited $100 buy-ins for the first 90 minutes. Sam Simon, co-creator of the Simpsons, was the top finisher and rather than pocket the prize money he instantly donated his winnings back to the charity.

Along with the donations raised via the poker tournament there was also a silent auction where players and spectators alike were able to bid on items including a Reggie Bush autographed helmet, Doyle Brunson autographed cowboy hat and a trip for two to Las Vegas to see Ray Romano perform.

All tournament attendees received a gift bag courtesy of Bluff Magazine that included an issue of Bluff Magazine as well as items donated by other tournament sponsors. For more information on the foundation visit www.onestepcloserfoundation.org or www.allinforcp.org.

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