Johnny Hennigan Wins “Ante Up For Africa” Tournament

One game at this years WSOP took just one day to crown a winner but more importantly its players will be helping unfortunate people all over the world. The final standings for the Ante up for Africa tournament that was held on July 2nd have been released.

Co-founders Don Cheadle and Annie Duke drew a large field of players to the tables. And it wasn’t just pro poker players; there were celebrities and athletes as well who participated in the game that was held in the Brasilia Room at the Rio.

All in all, there were 88 players in the field and just nine of those came away with a cash prize. Some high profile celebrities were on hand to help, where the net proceeds of this event will help the efforts for the war-torn Darfur region of Africa where residents continue to experience a humanitarian crisis. Some of the participants included Charles Barkley, Matt Damon, Jason Kidd, Ben and Casey Affleck, Ray Romano, Adam Sandler, Scott Ian, Kevin Pollack, Cheryl Hines, George Lopez, and Jason Alexander. Top poker pros that joined the field were Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Andy Block, Phil Laak, Erik Seidel, Phil Gordan, Barry Greenstein, and Rafe Furst.

After several hours of ‘friendly’ competition it was Johnny “World” Hennigan who came out on top to win and claim the $136,860. The rest of the money finishes in the event were:

John Hennigan $136,860
Michael Degusta $85,536
Dan Shak $54,529
Phil Hellmuth $38,491
Matt Calhoun $31,006
Jerry Cantrell $25,660
Jordanna Schutz $21,384
Ray Romano $18,176
Casey Affleck $16,038


Proceeds for the event will go directly to the Not On Our Watch (NOOW) project that was founded by Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt to bring to the worlds attention some of the atrocities committed in destitute areas of the world. The crisis in Darfur was the initial focus area for the group and because of recent happenings there continues to be a primary focus for NOOW.

News Added: 05 July, 2008

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