Charity poker tourney tonight

Carolyn Kessel Stewart / News Staff Writer
Saturday, January 22, 2005 W ould you fancy a warm plate of scrambled eggs or a hot game of Texas Hold 'Em today?

Either one will help raise money for victims of the Asian tsunami that has taken more than 200,000 lives and called residents throughout the area to action.

Card players and local business owners Kara Minotti Becker and Ben Becker have organized a charity poker tournament tonight at the VFW hall in Hudson.

"We didn't have as much money as we wanted (to donate), so we were trying to think of a way to make a larger impact. Short of packing up and going to Asia for three months, this was the big thing we could think of," said Minotti Becker.

Tom Carr, owner of Lincoln Lunch on Lincoln Street, said he will donate all sales from this morning's breakfast to charities helping tsunami victims.

"You always hear about the big businesses giving their donations, and I think small businesses should be doing it, too," he said.

The restaurant seats about 50 people and Carr expects it to be hopping today.

"Saturday is our busiest day, so we should be doing pretty well."

Tonight's poker tournament has already drawn considerable interest, Minotti Becker said, with 70 people confirmed to attend.

Card sharks who want to put their skills to work for the less fortunate will have to pony up a $20 minimum donation to Oxfam at the door.

Whoever wins the tournament, the entire donation will be made to Oxfam in their name, Minotti Becker said.

Minotti Beckers and her husband, of Bolton, run a nonprofit firm called Adventures in Time that organizes large-scale historical re-enactments.

"When the disaster happened we really felt we wanted to do something more than just raise money," she said. "We wanted to build a community feeling of aid and sympathy."

The poker tournament gets under way at 6:30 p.m. at the VFW Hall, 3 Palmieri Drive.