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: