Poker tournament is charity fund-raiser

By JESSICA GRAHAM
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

The Heart Connection Children's Cancer Programs on Feb. 26 will hold a fund-raiser unlike its usual car washes and 5-kilometer runs - a Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament.

The tournament will be held at the Val Air Ballroom, 301 Ashworth Road in West Des Moines.

Tony Timm, associate director of Heart Connection, said 130 people will be assigned to each flight, and 30 from each will advance to the finals.

The buy-in to play is $125, and the grand prize is $5,000, he said. Prizes will be awarded to the top 20, with the 20th person receiving $125 and the others moving up accordingly.

The decision to hold the tournament, Timm said, is related to the popularity of the game.

"It's hot right now. Everybody wants to play it, and everybody is playing," he said. "People that like to gamble can help raise money for the Heart Connection by doing so."

Nonprofit charitable organizations are eligible to receive a temporary special social and charitable gambling license from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.

The $20,000 Timm hopes the tournament raises will pay for the Heart Connection to hold its summer camps for children with cancer and their siblings, he said.

Timm is aware that some people may criticize a children's charity holding such a tournament, he said.

"Gambling is legal, gambling doesn't cause cancer," he said.

Consumer Credit of Des Moines Director Tom Coates is one person who objects to holding a gambling tournament to raise money for children.

"It's sending out the wrong message . . . When people are introduced at a young age, they are more likely to have a problem," Coates said.