Jessica Welman Blog

Now that I am back from Reno in one piece, it is about time I share a few snapshots from the ski portion of the Jimmy V Foundation charity event. As I mentioned in my last blog, the event combined a poker tournament with a downhill ski race where Antonio Esfandiari prevailed over Liv Boeree in the finals.

What I didn’t mention was some of the behind-the-scenes hilarity and drama that ensued with group’s visit to Mt. Rose. If you noticed in photos from the event, poor Matt Graham was sporting a sling on his left arm. Matt was part of a group that went out skiing and snowboarding the day before the race and he got into a bit of an accident that resulted in…a broken arm. Matt was really a trooper and took part in the charity poker tournament that very evening, finishing in 3rd, but he was down for the count come race time.

Same goes for Alec Torelli, who had to back out due to an ankle sprain. A couple other pros with minimal ski experience also elected to let someone else take to the hill in their stead because it was extremely windy outside and the conditions weren’t exactly great. The top of the hill had a ton of fresh powder, but it was almost too much and people practically had to wade through it rather than ski down it. The bottom of the hill was rock hard and icy.

Thankfully, we still had plenty of experienced ski bunnies on our hands who were ready to take to the slopes for some racing. Alex Outhred and McLean Karr were the presumed favorites going into the event since they had the most experience. Karr advanced far in the single elimination tournament, while, if I remember correctly, Outhred made an early exit.

The windy conditions resulted in this dedicated reporter spending most of her time watching the races from inside the comfort of the ski lodge armed with her camera and a cup of hot cocoa, but I did venture out for a little bit to snap some pics of the pros who donned their skis to raise awareness for a great cause:

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Rather than try and paraphrase the great Jimmy Valvano, I’ll just quote the legendary basketball coach directly:

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy.” — Jimmy V

It is probably fair to say that most of the participants in tonight’s charity tournament at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada took Valvano’s advice. The tournament is not even over and there has been laughter, deep thought and even a couple of tears shed as poker players and fans joined forces to raise money for the Jimmy V Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises money for cancer reach. Around 80 players took part in the charity tournament itself, while several other interested participants placed bids on silent auction items. The event does not end on the felt tonight either, as the pros will be out on the slopes of Mt. Rose tomorrow for a downhill ski race. The event is being filmed by ESPN2 and will air on the network later this year.

So far the tournament has raised over $40,000 for the cause thanks to a number of players who generously rebought several times over in the $200 rebuy event. Zachary Clark and Michael Binger were two players vying to rack up more rebuys than anyone else, but Dani Stern and our own Eric Morris were seen digging into their wallets to pony up money for more chips and a good cause.

With three tables remaining, reigning Bay 101 Shooting Star champion McLean Karr and Brandon Cantu are neck in neck for the chip lead, but the chips are flying with reckless abandon, so that could all change in a matter of minutes. While it would certainly be nice for one of these players to take the event down, they are more concerned with the cause at hand and having a good time. As you’ll see in some of the photos below, Binger’s table has been feasting on Washington Apple shots with a toast each round to the belated Jimmy V, but the outer tables seem to be having their share of fun as well.

Check it out for yourself. Here are some snapshots from the event so far:

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