PokerWorks

A group of celebrities, including famous Australian actor Russell Crowe, are scheduled to take part in the Joe Hachem & Shane Warne Charity Poker Tournament on Friday, November 30th. The Crown Casino’s poker room will host the highly anticipated event to benefit the Shane Warne Foundation for Australia’s ill and underprivileged children.

The event is open to the public, though the tournament is limited to 120 players. Set to take place in the high limit area of the Crown Casino – home of the famous Aussie Millions – the buy-in will be $1,000, and there will be $500 re-buys available. First place is guaranteed to be $25,000, and each of the other five finalists will be awarded $5,000. This charity tournament is purported to be the largest one ever held in Australia.

Russell Crowe has committed to playing in the poker tournament, along with other celebrities like Chris Judd, Kelly Landry, Dermott Brereton, Nathan Buckley, Brendon Fevola, Lavinia Nixon, Aaron Hamill, Bridget McIntyre, Suzie Wilks, Glenn Robbins, Simon Marshall, Dave Hughes, Fifi Box, and Ann Marie Cooksley. There will be at least one guest celebrity at each poker table. In addition, Joe Hachem and Shane Warne will join the final table of six players, though they have disabled themselves from being able to win the tournament and are only playing for entertainment purposes.

The evening of activities will begin at 6pm with poker lessons, and the tournament will start at 7pm. There will also be an auction to benefit the charity, and some of the featured items include a walk-on role in Hugh Jackman’s new film Wolverine, 18 holes of golf at Crown’s Capital Golf Club with Hachem and Warne, and dinner for eight people with Hachem and Warne at NOBU restaurant followed by an evening of poker.

All proceeds from the tournament and auction will be donated to the Shane Warne Foundation, which has already donated over $750,000 to Australian charities in the past 18 months. Their goal for 2007 is to reach the $2 million mark. The main goal of Warne, a popular cricket star, and his organization is to positively impact the lives of seriously ill or poor children by distributing funds to established charities that provide such services, some of which include medical equipment, operations, therapy, and housing.

“It’s a great cause and the Shane Warne Foundation helps a lot of people,” said Hachem. “From a personal standpoint, it fills a gap that I’ve been looking for to give something back.”

More information about the Shane Warne Foundation can be found at www.tswf.com.au. And for tournament details and entry forms, go to www.crownpoker.com.au.