Celebrity Poker Player: Ashton Kutcher

Looks like Ashton Kutcher is hoping to join the likes of Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt and Tobey Maguire at the poker tables soon.

Ashton Kutcher will learn to play poker from one of the best in the business. Ashton Kutcher paid $14,000 to have a private poker lesson with the duchess of poker and a poker icon Annie Duke.

The That 70?s Show Star attended an auction with his wife Demi Moore. The couple were some of the celebrities attending the charity auction hosted by uBid.com to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Ashton Kutcher felt compelled to attend the event when he learned all the proceeds from the auction were going to aid the ongoing Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

"I was lying in bed with my wife, and we were watching TV, and we're watching all the stuff that's going on with the hurricane disasters and I started to get pissed!”

"I was getting really, really pissed off. I'm like, 'Why isn't the government ready for something like this? Why aren't they doing something?" Kutcher said.

Ashton Kutcher's ex-girlfriend, Brittany Murphy, also attended the Sin City party, as well as 'N Sync star Lance Bass, who bid $30,000 also attended the auction held in the Empire Ballroom in Las Vegas.

Ashton Kutcher was in attendance with his wife, Demi Moore, in what was the couple's first public appearance in North America since their marriage late last month. A handful of other celebrities and pro players turned up for the event, including Nick and Drew Lachey, David Spade, Macaulay Culkin, Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Cris Judd, Joe Reitman, Krista Allen, A.J. DiScala, Phil Gordon, Lance Bass, Jessica Biel, and Cary Hart.

We'll wait and see to find out if Annie Duke's poker tips can help out Ashton Kutcher enough to beat Cameron Diaz and her crazy enthusiasm for poker at the next celebrity tournament.

Be there in person to find out, but the nice men down at the police station tell me I'm still not allowed to come within a quarter mile of Cameron Diaz. Back to the online tournaments for me, it seems.

The uBid.com Online Celebrity Auction was held at the Empire Ballroom in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kutcher decided to attend after he learned that all of the proceeds were going to aid the ongoing Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

The event was organized to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina, and to celebrate the launch of an online charity auction at uBid.com that will run until early November. It was hosted by comedienne Kathy Griffin and featured a performance by Macy Gray.

Proceeds will be split between the Brett Favre Fourward Mississippi Relief Fund, Kutcher's charity Rock Works, and the Child Welfare League of America.

Celebrities At The 3rd Annual Ante Up For Africa Poker Tournament

A crowd puller by the media in the red carpet as the Rio Convention Center became the center of the universe for both the celebrity world and the poker world last thursday, July 2, 2009.

The celebrities at the 3rd Annual Ante Up For Africa Poker Tournament at the Rio Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas. Some celebrities spotted in the event were:

Actor Ben Affleck arrives at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel and Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

Actor Matt Damon arrives at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel and Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

Actress Jennifer Tilly arrives at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel and Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

Actress and comedian Sarah Silverman arrives at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel and Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

Actors Dean Cain (L) and Jason Alexander arrive at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel and Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

Actor and a former WBF boxing champion Mike Tyson arrives at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel and Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

Actor and event host Don Cheadle arrives at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel and Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

Poker Icon and the Duchess of poker Annie Duke arrives at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel and Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

NBA analyst and former NBA player Charles Barkley (Left) and Actor and Comedian Brad Garrett (Right) arrive at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel & Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

Television personality Montel Williams (R) and his wife Tara Williams arrive at 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel & Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

Comedian and Actor Doug Benson arrives at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel & Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

Rapper and Actor Nelly arrives at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel & Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

11 time World Series Of Poker Tournament Phil Hellmuth arrives at the 3rd Ante Up for Africa celebrity poker tournament at the Rio Hotel & Casino last Thursday, July 2,2009.

"When we first conceived of the charity, we were thinking we'd just do a little event and raise like 20 or 30 thousand dollars," said Duke.

But Jeffrey Pollack, the Commissioner of World Series Of Poker Tournament had a vision for this event that we didn't have and he made us part of the World Series Of Poker Tournament.

"It's an amazing platform where not only are poker players involved here, at one place at one time, but media is also focused on poker this time of year right before the Main Event. It's so exciting to see everyone come out."

At the end of the day, Alex Bolotin won the $176,449 first place prize and promptly donated half of it back to charity.

Proceeds from the tournament will directly benefit Refugees International’s efforts in Darfur and Sudan. The 3rd Annual Ante Up for Africa Poker tournament has raised more than $2 million for the cause since its conception.

“It is important to me to show people that it is possible to make a difference for the people of Darfur, I am thrilled that this event has become such a success and that it will generate support for efforts by Refugees International, the Enough Project and others to end the crisis in Darfur.” said Duke.

"I am very pleased that we have raised almost 2 million to date and appreciative of everyone who has participated and donated to help us on our mission of bringing the plight of the refugees of Darfur to the forefront of people's minds," said Cheadle.

The event will also be televised in part by ESPN on August 11 from 8 – 10 pm ET.

Don Cheadle To Host The 3rd Annual Celebrity-Charity Poker Tournament

Attention all poker players! There is going to be an all-celebrity poker game that takes place in the next few weeks – and money raised will go to charity.



Mark your calendar for the July 2: 3rd Annual Ante Up For Africa Charity Event happening in 2 in the afternoon at the Rio Resort Las Vegas.

Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle will again be hosting the 3rd Annual Ante Up for Africa : Texas Hold-Em Tournament together with the duchess of poker and the poker icon, Annie Duke. The event is in association with the 2009 World Series of Poker. The tournament merges their desire to contribute to a resolution of this crisis and their passion for poker.

The Ante Up For Africa tournament will also host an exclusive party for the players and stars at PURE, one of Vegas’ hottest night clubs. It will also be televised on ESPN on Tuesday, Aug. 11 from 8-10 p.m.

The celebrities will be uber famous and putting their piles of money where their moufs are. So far the list includes; Matt Damon, Jason Alexander, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Montel Williams, Herschel Walker, Hank Azaria, Brad Garrett, Marlon Wayans, Sarah Silverman,Casey Affleck and Rob Schneider, with many more in the process of being confirmed and expressing their interest to play in the coming weeks.

The tournament will feature a fast-paced structure designed to complete the competition within five hours. Seating for the tournament is open to anyone age 21 or older.

The proceeds from the Ante Up For Africa tournament will once again go to charities The Enough Project, that provide aid and assistance to the survivors of the crisis in Darfur, Sudan and support activism dedicated to resolving this crisis. Previous Ante Up tournaments have raised more than $2 million for the cause.

“I am very pleased that we have raised almost two million to date and appreciative of everyone who has participated and donated to help us on our mission of bringing the plight of the refugees of Darfur to the forefront of people’s minds,” said Cheadle.

The crisis in Darfur is entering its 6th year. The conflict has killed 400,000 people and forced more than 3 million Darfuris to flee their homes.

The recent expulsion of key international humanitarian groups by the government of Sudan in response to the International Criminal Court issuance of an arrest warrant for President Omar Al-Bashir has placed hundreds of thousands of the most needy at even greater risk and without access to medical care or reliable food supplies.

President Bashir continues to utilize starvation as a weapon of war to silence his opponents and to distract the world from the key issues in Darfur. Now more than ever, there needs to be a dynamic international effort to move beyond simply managing Sudan’s multiple crises and forge a lasting and equitable peace for all of Sudan that ensures genuine power-sharing.

Our hope is that through efforts like Ante Up for Africa, we can continue to keep the issue in the spotlight while providing real funds to support a brighter future for the people of Sudan.

You can sign up to play at http://www.anteupforafrica.org. All players are being asked to donate half of their winnings to Ante Up for Africa, which in turn will make a significant contributions to Enough and Refugees International.

If you’d like more information about this cause, be sure to head over to Celebrity Poker Players Blog!




Photo courtesy of http://www.enoughproject.org/ http://images.goolge.com http://www.newstoob.com

“The Duchess Of Poker”

How far would you go if you played at World Poker Tour for the first time?

When Annie Duke made her first major public appearance in the poker scene, she showed the world that females can play poker too. Many years of experience with cards and competition made her last until 14th place, and a total of $70,000 richer.






She spends 16-20 hours at a poker table making a living, all while being a full time mom of four and a yoga and health fanatic, hence, Duke is known as the world’s most successful female poker player!

Before Duke concentrated herself in poker, she is focused on her career in college where she excelled in academics and was studying for her PHD in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

With the suggestion of her brother, renowned poker player Howard Lederer, Duke tried her hand at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. She ended up placing 13th in her first tournament, knocking her brother out of play. Duke won 70K in her first month of competition.

Since Duke began playing tournaments,she won over $3 Million dollars in poker tournament profession. Duke has 1 World Series Of Poker bracelet and has finished 2nd place twice.

In 2004, the stardom of her poker career, Duke won the $ 2,500 Limit Hold'em Bellagio Five-Star World Poker Classic/WPT Championship, and Las Vegas winning close to $150,000. Duke also won the very impressive tournament, Tournament of Champions for $2,000,000.





Duke generally does not attend ladies only events. She stated in an interview with CBS, "Poker is one of the only sports where a woman can compete on a totally equal footing with a man, so I don't understand why there's a ladies only tournament." Duke wants to beat only the best at the game whether they are male of female.

In 2005, Duke launched her first book called, “Annie Duke: How I raised, folded, bluffed, flirted, cursed and won millions at the World Series of Poker”. Written by herself and her co-writer David Diamond. The book includes from Duke's personal life to her poker career in achieving her first WSOP bracelet. Duke also launched her DVD’s, which include “Annie Duke’s Advanced Texas Hold’em Secrets: How to Beat the Big Boys”

Duke also launched “Annie Duke’s Beginner’s Guide To Texas Hold 'em” and “Annie Duke’s Girl’s Guide To Texas Hold 'em” both released in January 2006, and in February 2006, she launched, “Masters of Poker: Annie Duke’s Conquering Online Poker”.

In addition, Duke also engage in the Team Ultimate Bet,and is a sought after poker coach, teaching celebrities like Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Ashton Kutcher and Charles Barkley. She has a reputation of taking on the poker regulatory affairs in televised tournaments. She is also a member of the Mob on NBCs 1 vs 100. She also appeared on NBCs Poker After Dark thrice, without a win.




Duke was also featured in GSN premiered special Annie Duke Takes on the World appearing as an amateur poker player. She has also made an appearance on Deal or no Deal by supporting a contestant.

Annie Duke is one of the most famous names in the tournament circuit! In 2208, Duke holds the women's record for most "in the money" finishes at the WSOP.

Annie Duke routinely raises funds to benefit charities and frequently offers a private poker lessons with herself as a charity auction item. She is involved in various charitable organizations including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ante Up for Africa, Children’s Hospital, and many others. That is why Duke is chosen to be a project manager on Celebrity Apprentice.