Gamblers Unanimous

I went to a fundraiser for the Oak Lawn Chargers this weekend. The Chargers are a travelling little league baseball team that plays against teams from nearby towns and cities. I don't think they receive any financial support from the Oak Lawn park district, but rather are supported through sponsors, fundraisers like the one I attended, and of course, the team members' parents' pocketbooks.

This particular fundraiser caught my interest because it was a Texas Holdem poker tournament. The $75 donation paid for your entry into the tournament, a buffet dinner, and free draft beer all night. They made out on me with the beer part, but I might have offset it at the buffet. :) They also were selling raffle tickets for a variety of prize baskets, split the pot raffles, and a 1 in 52 chance drawing on a wide screen LCD TV. This was a pretty good strategy, because with a room full of poker playing gamblers, they probably sold enough raffle tickets to cover their expenses.

The event was held at the Chateau Bu-Shea, an area wedding and banquet facility. I imagine that late February is a slow time for weddings, so they were probably happy to get the business. The buffet was very good. It included cole slaw, potato salad, mostacciolli, fried chicken, kaiser rolls, and sliced beef in gravy. There was also an extensive fruit and dessert table. I can't comment on the beer, but if you didn't want beer, there was a full cash bar available, and it was only $3 for a good sized glass of J&B.

The tournament was very well run. My only real complaint was that it started about 40 minutes late. I think they were getting a lot of walk-in late registrations, and wanted to fill up at least 20 tables. My other complaint was that they didn't use standard casino colors for chip denominations, or even consistant chip designs within a denomination. This sometimes caused some bettor confusion. There were a lot of novice players there, so some of the rules normally found in a casino or even a home game were being overlooked. This was probably a good idea because it kept the game friendly.

I played pretty well, building my stack with a couple of good sized pots early on. I wont make you suffer through my bad beat stories, but making it to the final table in a 20 table tournament takes both skill and luck, and luck was not with me that night. I ended up busting out with about half the field still left in the game.

I didn't win the LCD TV either :(