Como

So I'm back in Columbia, MO with Bobby now... we got here yesterday. Also I made some calls and got a lot of cool things donated for this event and want to say a big thank you to the following companies :

All-in Magazine
Bluff Magazine
Card Player Magazine
I'm Allin Wear Clothing

Thanks to these great companies, we're going to be able to give some cool things away. Each person who comes to the event is going to be given current issues of each magazine. They also threw in some subscriptions for us to give away as door prizes and as part of the silent auction lots (more about that in a second). Every poker player should have a subscription to these three great publications. I heard some good advice about the value of information in poker... suppose you spend $50 on a book (which is what super system was going for back in the day before it went paperback). Well, if you win even a single pot because of what you learned from that book, it has paid for itself. Books and magazines are investments that serious poker players NEED to make... all three of these magazines have had little tidbits of gold that have definitely improved my game. Go to the sites, sign up for a subscription, and email them and let them know that you signed up because you saw their link after they donated to this charity event. ;)

And then there's I'm Allin Wear aka IAI. Their "imallinwear.com" domain name is hardly radio friendly... so you might be asking yourself how these cats can still be in business. The answer is simple. In the last year they have produced what is in my opinion the best poker t-shirts and other clothing items available on the market. About a year ago, they signed Scott up to promote the product and from what I can gather he has a little piece of the company in return. I've worn their t-shirts, hats, hoodies, and custom hockey jerseys to plenty of tournaments (including the ESPN ones this year). I don't have any interest in the company and have never been given an incentive to wear the clothes... quite simply, I don't need one. These items look and feel so cool. Words and pictures don't do the items justice... you have to wear them to understand. They look good. They feel good. And they have lots of cool poker wear for the ladies (and even babies!). So do yourself a favor and give yourself a fashion makeover... hell, buy extra t-shirts and give them away as prizes in your next tournament. Then you'll look better AND be more popular!

So yeah, this charity event is shaping up pretty nice. We have some lots that we're auctioning off including two really cool packages. The first is a Vegas experience and includes tickets for two to Vegas, two nights stay at Harrahs, tickets to a show in town, VIP treatment at one of the hip nightclubs, and dinner with me and my little brother where we teach you everything we know about poker (should take about forty minutes) and follow it up with a little poker excursion to one of the cardrooms. How cool is that lot? My favorite lot, though, is the one that includes that signed Coolidge poster with autographs from Doyle, Hellmuth, Chan, Matusow (who just won a major televised tournament... I won't spoil which one for people who want to pretend like those broadcasts are live), Tony Ma, The Grinder Mizrachi, Susie Isaacs, and several other players. I carried that poster around with me for awhile and I wish I could keep it for myself, it's that cool. It would make such a good addition to any game room. And what's more is this... Doyle Brunson is THE poker legend and is largely responsible for the game being taken out of seedy backrooms and legitimized. He's getting up there in years, and knock on wood I hope he'll live long enough to win another nine bracelets. But the awful truth is that he might not be around much longer, and the opportunity to get his autograph on a huge poster like this right alongside Chan and Hellmuth and the rest of these great players just simply won't be there for long. Besides the poster, that lot also includes some books, poker dvds, and autographed items from Phil Gordon and I *think* Greenstein even sent some things out. Those guys are great, and I'm starting to understand why they spend so much time on their charities... it's an addictive little high feeling like you're making a difference (even if the difference I'm making is a fraction of what Gordon and Greenstein do).

So if you're in the area, come out to the event. It's kicking off at 5:30pm tomorrow, November 12th, at the Holiday Inn Expo Center on Stadium and Bernadette. It's $100 a ticket for the best dinner ever and entertainment to boot. There's a free tournament afterwards where you'll get a chance to play with me and the rest of the crew. And most importantly, you're helping to cure cancer (all proceeds are going to the American Cancer Society, earmarked for breast cancer research) and help out a really great highschool group (the FCCLA... formerly FHA but I guess calling young women "future homemakers" became outdated).

Also, if any of you out there are interested in placing a little bid on one of those two lots I described... well, I'm not completely sure it's possible. But you might be able to bid over the phone. So if you're interested, shoot me an email at dutch@rakefree.com with your bid amount and your phone number and I'll get back to you.

Finally, if you have anything you can donate... doesn't matter how crazy it sounds... maybe you're a tv celebrity and you can donate an hour for dinner... or maybe you're in the movies and can give someone a small walk-on role. Maybe you're a website designer and can offer someone a free website design or logo design. Whatever it is, there's still time to put together more lots to auction off. It doesn't have to be items... experiences work just as well.

Hope you're all well and giving them hell. Here's to a great weekend!