Ben Affleck Raises $2 Million In Celebrity Poker Tournament
- Ben Affleck hosted a celebrity poker tournament on Americas Card Room online poker site.
- The poker tournament featured stars such as Tom Brady and was able to raise $2 million in hunger relief funding.
- Online poker is currently legal in four states, but the celebrity tournament highlights the potential revenue that states could make from legalizing the activity.
LAS VEGAS — Last week, Hollywood actor Ben Affleck held an online poker tournament where he raised money for hunger relief across the United States. A long list of celebrities, including the likes of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady logged on and helped donate to the cause.
The tournament was able to raise millions, which begs the question of why there is only a handful of states where online poker is legal?
Celebrity Poker Tournament
There was a $10,000 buy-in for those players that wanted to participate in Ben Affleck’s celebrity online poker tournament. There was no prize pool as all of the money will be going towards the Feeding America Charity. The tournament was held on the poker site, Americas Cardroom.
“During these times of uncertainty, I’m thinking about our most vulnerable populations – children who are losing access to the meals they rely on, our friends and family who are facing job disruptions, the elderly, and low-income families,” said Affleck on his Instagram.
The event saw a total of 65 participants which was made up of a long list of celebrities and professional poker players. The celebrity list included Tom Brady, Adam Sandler and Matt Damon while the poker professionals included Luke Schwartz, Doyle Brunson and Jeff Boski.
Of everyone that participated, it was professional poker player Ebony Kenney who ended up winning the tournament. Along the way she knocked off Phil Hellmuth, Matt Damon and Kevin Smith and was joined in the final table by Tobey Maguire and Bryan Cranston. Kevin Pollack finished in second place while Andy Milonakis placed third.
Legal Online Poker
There are currently six states that have legalized online poker in the United States.
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Delaware
- West Vriginia
- Michigan
New Jersey, in the month of February alone, had made $1,796,804 just from online poker. Delaware, on the other hand, made just $239,680 from online poker. These numbers differ since the population in Delaware is much smaller than that of New Jersey. New Jersey also has the help of New York travelers throughout the state that play as well.
Often times, the money made from taxing online poker is used to fund state government programs such as education or infrastructure projects. However, unlike sports betting, states have been slow to adopt this form of legal gambling.
In addition to the states that have already legalized online poker, New York and Nebraska are among other states that had online poker bills introduced in their 2020 legislative sessions.
Certain lawmakers have tried to make the argument that poker classifies as a game of skill rather than chance in an effort to get their bills passed.
However, these bills often get put on the back burner because they do not generate as much taxes as other forms of gambling. The COVID-19 pandemic has put these bills farther down the list of priorities in the legislative session’s that remain this year.
But, with so much money being generated from Ben Affleck’s tournament, it may gain the attention of lawmakers who have previously considered legalizing the activity.