Bright Lights Shined on Royce Clayton’s Star-studded Poker Celebrity Bowl Event Kicking Off Super Bowl XLII
PHOENIX, AZ– February 3, 2008 – Major League Baseball’s Royce Clayton hit a home run with the inaugural Poker Celebrity Bowl at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino Resort. The Poker Celebrity Bowl (PCB) was a Texas No-Limit Hold’em event kicking off Super Bowl weekend. Stars from sports and Hollywood came out in full force to support Clayton. The event raised over $40,000 for the Royce Clayton Family Foundation.
“Harrah’s Ak-Chin was delighted with the success of the Poker Celebrity Bowl and the tremendous support from Royce Clayton, our celebrity partners and sponsors Goldwater Bank, Porsche Cars and Heartland Poker Tour,” said Geoff Andres, Vice President and General Manager of Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino Resort.
The poker event included more than 20 of Clayton’s fellow celebrity athletes, actors, and professional poker pros. The exclusive list included MLB pitcher Kyle Lohse, Jose Canseco, NFL’s Rolland Roland Williams, Jamir Miller, MarTay Jenkins, NBA Hall of Famer Bob Lanier, LPGA Laura London, music producer Bruce Walker, Fox Sports Super Bowl host Fred King, Heartland Poker Tour host Chris Hanson, Sex in the City’s Willie Garson, The Closers’ Tony Denison, and ER’s Eric Palladino.
The professional poker pros included over 15 World Series of Poker champs with over 30 million in earnings. Poker pros on hand were Michael Binger, Chris Ferguson, Jamie Gold, Clonie Gowen, Erik Seidel, and Robert Williamson III.
Clayton said, “Poker is a fantastic way for fans and celebrities to unite. I am fortunate to have accomplished many of my goals.” He continued, “The Royce Clayton Family Foundation was started to help others achieve their dreams and today we were able to raise money to make a difference.”
The $1,000 buy-in tournament was opened to the public at the Harrah’s Phoenix-Ak Chin Casino in Maricopa. Over 70 players played for the coveted first prize. The poker pros and stars represented at the final table were:
The final table finishers.
1st Place – Jeromy McMahon (Maricopa, AZ)
2nd Place – Larry Schohn (Lincolnwood, IL)
3rd Place – Vinny Barone (Queen Creek, AZ)
4th Place – Troy Towne (Maricopa, AZ)
5th Place – Chris Ferguson (Las Vegas, NV)
6th Place – Lucky Sanderlin (Maricopa, AZ)
7th Place – Joshua Remmert (Mesa, AZ)
8th Place – Christian DaFour (Chicago, IL)
9th Place – Clonie Gowen (Dallas, TX)
10th Place – Jose Canseco (Los Angeles, CA)
Canseco and Gowen were knocked out 9th & 10th in a surprising hand. Gowen went all in with Ace/8 of hearts. Canseco called all in quickly with Ace/King of jacks. After thinking, Troy Towne of Maricopa also called with his Jack/9 of hearts. The flop came with a Jack and then a 9 came later giving Towne 2 pairs and knocking out Canseco and Gowen. Ferguson’s luck did not hold up, and he finished 5th.
After a brief heads up match, Maricopa local Jeromy McMahon won the tournament. McMahon won a $10,000 seat into World Series of Poker® Main Event and over $5,000. Larry Schohn won 2nd place prize including $3,374 and a main event into the Heartland Poker Tour. Third place was Vincent “Vinny” Barone. He won $2,381 and the coveted 2-Day Porsche Driving School Experience.
The Royce Clayton Family Foundation was started by Major League’s Royce Clayton in 1997. Clayton is a 17 year veteran and considered one of the all time greatest shortstops. He won the 2007 World Series of Baseball with the Red Sox. He has been honored for his philanthropy work with the Jim Sundberg Community Achievement Award. He was nominated in 1999 and 2000 for the Roberto Clemente Man of the Year award.
Royce Clayton Family Foundation is committed to improving lives and giving back to the community. The foundation works to promote education, help homeless children, provide aid for battered women, develop athletic opportunities for minority youth, and raise awareness for sickle cell anemia.
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Posted by Troy Mihalek
Troy appears on the widely unsyndicated In The Zona, Arizona's Premier Sports Podcast, as well as 1060AM the fan on Saturday mornings. He is the voice behind the mic in more ways than one. Besides writing for the site and co-hosting the radio show, his passion lies in the art of voiceovers.
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