The sixth annual Against All Odds charity poker tournament, benefiting St. Jude Children's Hospital, is moving online due to COVID-19. Admission to the virtual event costs $500 and tickets can be purchased before the tournament starts on October 24. A 2021 World Series of Poker Main Event seat will be on the line.
The coronavirus has put a damper on many charity poker events that help raise money for some good causes. Over the past five years, the Against All Odds tournament has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to benefit the top children's hospital in the U.S.
St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital's mission is to treat and defeat childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Based out of Memphis, Tennessee, the research facility has done wonders over the years for treating sick kids.
Raising money for a good cause through poker
On October 24, poker players will have an opportunity to compete for a dream prize — a seat in next year's WSOP Main Event, valued at $10,000. The buy-in for the charity tournament, which begins at 4 pm PT, is $500, and additional donations are also encouraged.
To sign-up for the beneficial poker event, click on the following link to the Against All Odds website. The admission fee gets you a seat at the online poker table. But an additional donation can quite literally help save lives. There are seven types of donations, the first being your own chosen random amount, ranging from $5 to as much as you can afford to give. A second way to contribute to St. Jude through poker is to bid on an auction item via the Against All Odds charity event ( link to auction).
Poker training sessions with pro Melissa Burr is among the items up for bid, along with a virtual meet and greet session with actor Jason Alexander (co-star of the hit 1990s show "Seinfeld"), who also happens to be an avid poker fan.
There are five additional ways to contribute money towards the children's hospital, and that is to pay for a specific service. For a $1,000 donation, you can help cover two-thirds the cost of one day of chemotherapy for a patient. For $250, you can help pay for meals for a St. Jude family for a full week. One of the features of St. Jude's Children's Hospital is that the medical facility pays for travel and food expenses for families of patients during hospital stays.
Another helpful donation, costing $500, will help provide one platelet transfusion for a sick child. There are two other donation types available — $100 to provide a platelet test count for two patients and $750 to cover the cost of five days of oxygen for a patient.
Featured image source: Flickr
