Off Topic: Ebony Kenney Wins Celebrity Online Charity Tournament; PokerStars l Women’s Day Platinum Pass Winner Disqualified; Kevin Hart as Global Ambassador for Partypoker

With the world seemingly put on hold for the meantime, many citizens are struggling to meet basic needs amidst the Coronavirus crisis. As service to the community, Americas Cardroom, an online poker site, hosted All In For Feeding America last Saturday which raised over $2 million intended for charity overall.

On the other hand, another online winner from PokerStars’ International Women’s Day event had to give up his PSPC Platinum Pass in violation of the restrictions of the said tournament. Celebrity amateur player, Kevin Hart also made online news as he was named Global Ambassador for poker brand, partypoker.

Ebony Kenney Wins ACR Charity Poker Tournament

A star-studded line up of 65 players joined the $10,000 buy-in online charity poker tournament hosted by Americas Cardroom last weekend. Ben Affleck united forces with said poker site to contribute to a beloved charity named Feeding America which has a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries intended to feed over 46 million people.

Big names such as Matt Damon, Tobey Maguire, Sarah Silverman, Adam Sandler, Adam Levine, John Krasinski and Tom Brady excitedly jumped in the friendly tournament with poker pros Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Jason Koon, Alex Foxen, Todd Brunson, Jeff Gross, Jamie Staples, Jon Pardy, Luke Schwartz, Mike McDonald, and Jeff Boski also joining in the action in support for the charity event. Huge bonus donations together with ACR’s $1 million addition to the collected pot pushed the event to reach the $2 million mark for the hunger-relief efforts.

The fun-filled affair came to an end as Thirst Lounge streamer Ebony Kenney was crowned champion after a heads-up battle with actor-comedian Kevin Pollak. At one point, Kenney was down to her last big blind at the final table but made a nice comeback to bust Pollak’s pair of 7s with a river card giving the poker pro three 3s and the final victory. Although none of the prize pool was awarded to Kenney, the Vancouver-based pro did earn some bragging rights as well as a great experience for topping the field of prominent players.

Congratulations to the incomparable @Ebony_Kenney on winning the @ACR_POKER #feedingamerica All-In for America Charity Tournament benefiting @FeedingAmerica!!!

Check out her winning moment and join her at @LearnProPoker here:https://t.co/LGRyMommMf pic.twitter.com/6Y8yYdCnhN

— LearnProPoker (@LearnProPoker) April 12, 2020

“It’s a bright spot with everything happening and I’m so happy I get to be a part of it,” Kenney said while talking to Americas CardRoom CEO Phil Nagy on her Twitch channel. “I’m honored … I was honored to be able to play, and the fact that I won in such a ridiculous field, it’s unbelievable.”

PokerStars International Women’s Day Platinum Pass Winner Disqualified

The $22 women’s tournament held on March 8th Sunday, celebrated as International Women’s Day on PokerStars was in for a treat when a PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) pass worth $30,000 was included in the prize pool. The victor however, was soon after disqualified for being male, which was ultimately against a rule highlighted in the tournament lobby. (‘Note: This tournament is only for female players. Male participants will be disqualified and will forfeit any prize with no refund of the buy-in’.)

Third place finisher, Senja V unbelievably scored the amazing prize after second place finisher PokerStars streamer already owned a Pass. The amateur player revealed that her “experience with poker is minimal, under 10 tournaments and just a few hours of cash games online, but not at all live games. ;All of my gaming counted together might be around 100 euros. Well, now I know what I’m studying these next 5 months. I still can’t believe this, and I’m scared like crazy…”.

The PSPC Pass is intended for EPT Barcelona this coming August which includes:
Buy-in to the €22,500 PSPC 2020 event

• Six nights’ hotel accommodation for you and a guest in a five-star hotel
• Airport transfers
• Bespoke PSPC Merchandise
• €1,250 to cover expenses
• Platinum Pass winner experiences during the event

Kevin Hart Signed to Promote Partypoker

Partypoker key partner, Rob Yong together with actor-comedian Kevin Hart recently announced in a video released on Twitter, Hart’s partnership with the poker brand to aid in promotion and embrace the game as a community sport. In the video, Yong mentions Hart’s love for the game, proclaiming the celebrity plays even more than he does. Back in 2017, Hart reportedly signed with Partypoker’s top rival, PokerStars and even competed in high-roller events such as the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl.

Happy my good friend @KevinHart4real is now official @partypoker partner. Was talking about partypoker ethos at cash game with him, @Andrew_Robl @BrokeLivingJRB & Kevin promised to help us promote poker to new/amateur players, so made him do this video to commit his ass!💪KTF Rob pic.twitter.com/BHjckqbhRS

— Rob Yong (@rob_yong_) April 10, 2020

“I asked my man Kevin Hart to help me promote amateur poker,” Yong said. “He’s the highest stakes amateur player in the world and I want him to help me promote amateur poker, promote poker to the masses.”

“I’m here to party, I’m here to make it a good time,” Hart said. “Expect the world of poker to get a lot more fun. Expect it to get real and expect us to get rid of all of the people that make it so f****** technical, man”

Familiar with the poker scene and with a wide social media reach, the brand is keen on introducing the game to more followers and bringing on more amateur players to join in on the fun. Named as a global ambassador, poker enthusiasts can expect to see more of Hart in live events held by partypoker as well as broadcast partners like Poker Central and Triton.