Casino Rouge a spectacular success

 

On October 14th, 2011, along with their best poker face, poker players were "all in for hearts" at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Shalin Tripathi accepts the
Texas Hold 'em diamond prize.

The night featured a Texas Hold 'em tournament, gaming tables like blackjack and roulette, with a special highlight of watching and learning from celebrity pro and world series of poker champion Chris Moneymaker and Poker After Dark announcer Ali Nejad. In all, 200-plus guests enjoyed an evening of fun and excitement.

Along with the casino activities that night, guests enjoyed a jazz lounge featuring the Eric St-Laurent Trio and Jaymz Bee as emcee, plus wine tasting and cuisine by Oliver and Bonacini.

Kathy Thomson accepts
the gold wafer.

To begin the evening, members of the media sat down to a friendly game of poker.  But in the end, Claudio Midolo edged out his wife Mika Midolo of CP24 Breakfast, to win the Media Trophy. Also playing in the game were Peter Gross, 680 News and Kenty Khan of Asian Television Network, along with poker pro Chris Moneymaker and Casino Rouge committee members Dr. Ash Mukherjee (Chair), John Di Cesare and Chetan Mathur.  Poker After Dark host Ali Nejad provided expert advice to the media players and running commentary on the game throughout, as he did for the main event that lasted until 1:30 a.m. when the champion was crowned in front of a big crowd who stayed to watch.
During the evening, two prizes were awarded:

Tournament Champion (over $5,000 in diamonds provided with the generous assistance of R.T. Boyd Ltd.) ~ Shalin Tripathi
Javier San Juan - 2nd place; Eric Carlson - 3rd place

Non-Tournament Champion (1 oz wafer of gold valued at $1,800 and sponsored by Agnico Eagle) ~ Kathy Thomson

Ali Nejad, behind, calls the action as Chris Moneymaker, left,
and Jim Ward, right, eye the cards being dealt.

Proceeds from Casino Rouge go to support the Heart of It All campaign to purchase echocardiogram equipment for Rouge Valley Health System.

See all of the pictures from this event at the Foundation Flickr page.