Raising for Effective Giving board member Philipp Gruissem has announced the schedule for their first official poker tournament series due to be held at Kings Casino Rozvadov in August.
“One time I took my knife and I sliced off the end of the hogs nose, just like a piece of bologna. The hog went crazy for a few seconds. Then it just sat there looking stupid. So I took a handful of salt brine and ground it into its nose. The poor hog didn’t know whether to shit or go blind.”
That’s a quote taken from the book Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy. The words fell out of the mouth of a slaughterhouse worker. His job was to kill animals that would one day end up at our dinner table.
So what does animal cruelty have to do with a poker tournament in the Czech Republic?
Everything.
If you are a regular follower of my work then you will be aware of my love for Raising for Effective Giving (REG). There has been a lot written regarding the great work that they do to raise money for charities such as Against Malaria Foundation, GiveDirectly and Schistomiasis Control Initiative – not so much about the animal charities that they also support.
Poverty alleviation does not define REG. They are also involved in meta-charity work, climate change, existential threats such as the development of artificial intelligence, and animal welfare. Even the hogs get some poker love.
This is why REG’s hook up with Kings Casino in Rozvadov is so important. On 12th – 17th August Leon Tsoukernik and the team at Kings will host the first official REG tournament series, with the fees from the Main Event and High Roller going towards REG and the charities they support.
The Main Event is a €250 buy-in with a €200k guarantee, and the High Roller is a €10,600 buy-in 8-Max event. There will also be Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) events, and Turbo’s and Bounty events.
“I have been there many times and the tournaments and cash games are insanely well organized and usually very soft.” REG co-founder, and board member, Philipp Gruissem posted on his Facebook wall.
Gruissem will be joined in the Czech Republic by fellow board members Igor Kurganov and Liv Boeree. Max Altergott will also be making an appearance as will many other well-known pros.
The team at REG is all about doing the most good that they can do.
You can do that to by making sure you are at the Kings Casino, Rozvadov 12th – 17th August.
