Ben Affleck’s Online Poker Tournament Raises $2M

Ben Affleck is an all-round good guy. He’s also known for being a keen Poker player. Which is probably why he chose a celebrity online Poker game when he came up with the idea of raising money for the Feeding America charity. And lucky for Affleck, Poker lends itself to a wide variety of wisecracks and wordplay, as was evident from the title he chose for his online Poker charity tournament, the rather aptly titled All In For Feeding America.

But it turned out to be more than just a very clever title, because the Hollywood actor ended up raising a fantastic $2 million in much-needed funds for the benefit of those trying to keep up with the needs of Americans trapped in poverty and need. 

Every Cent Went To Charity

The special charity tournament was streamed by popular online Poker room Americas Cardroom (ACR). And anyone keen on joining in the high-profile Poker fun for a very good cause, were required to part with the $10,000 buy-in fee. Needless to say, considering the variety of player that sat down as part of the 65-strong celebrity entry field, they buy-in really was small change.

It helped too that there was no prize-pool on offer to the winning player, with all proceeds donated to the selected charity instead. The buy-in fees raised quite the packet and was boosted even more by a significant donation made by the online Poker room itself. The total was boosted even more by various donations made by those who viewed the live-streamed star-studded game online.

A Star-Studded Cast

Various celebrity super-stars tried their best to beat the hand of fate, but in the end, professional player Ebony Kenney proved unbeatable at the final table. Kenney competed for the number one spot together with an entire host of celebrity superstars and professional players, including Phil Helmuth, Matt Damon, Tobey Maguire, Bryan Cranston, Tom Brady, Adam Levine, Sarah Silverman, Jason Koon, Jamie Staples, Jon Hamm, Jeff Goss, Jon Pardy and Jason Bateman

Comedian Andy Milonakis finished up his stunt in third position overall, with celebrity impressionist Kevin Pollak doing more of the same in second place. Pollak is no newcomer to the world of professional competitive Poker and has twice in the past cashed out at a World Series of Poker main event.