Jennifer Harman poker throwdown charity event for the Nevada SPCA

I just got back from Reno where I was invited to be a featured pro playing for the Jennifer Harman poker throw down charity event benefiting the Nevada SPCA. The event took place last Saturday at the Peppermill Resort and Casino where a record 568 poker pros, amateurs, & celebs participated in the poker tournament to raise money for this great cause. For those who do not know, Poker Throw Down is a unique concept of no-limit hold’em poker competition featuring a ten-player team format, but yet also allows for individual player participation. I was the team captain for the LIPS (ladies international poker series) team #3. The event was a huge success. Lips team #2 made the most points and Matt Vinks won the tournament. A lot of money was raised through tournament buy-ins, re-buys/add-ons, generous donations and a silent auction. You can still make a donation at www.nevadaspca.org

Prior to the tournament we had a little red carpet walk for the teams, the pro's and the celebrities. The Nevada SPCA brought up some of the adoptable pets to bring on the red carpet. They had all kinds of amazingly cute animals, dogs, cats, bunnies and even MINIATURE BABY GOATS!!! Oh My God! I fell in love with the latter! As a vegan, I always try to bring awareness that all animals are equals, they all have feelings and feel pain so that people think twice before putting them on their plate. Therefore, I always dreamed of owning an animal that is considered livestock to show people that they also can be great pets. Mini pygmy goats fall right in that category! They were so small, they grow up to be about 16 to 23 inches, they are not aggressive by nature and are very playful. I might try to foster one of the babies to see how it goes and try to convince Mike to keep it as they have about 8 at the SPCA up for adoption at the moment. They got rescued from a sect that was raising them to slaughter them as "Sacrifices"... I know, crazy people out there!

The whole day was about bringing awareness to the public on adopting animals that are homeless instead of buying from stores that usually buy from unethical puppy mills. Sadly, between 3 to 4 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year in the United States because too many people give up their pets and too few people adopt from shelters. One way to reduce this number is to adopt a pet instead of buying and spay/neuter your pets. The event was a great success and I was very proud to be part of it. :)

The event was followed by a VIP cocktail party, it was nice to mingle with all the players in a relaxed atmosphere. It was definitely a fun week end. Big thanks to Jennifer Harman, Lisa Wheeler, GreasieWheels productions, the Peppermill Casino and the Nevada SPCA for putting it all together!




I am gearing up for the WSOP and Deepstacks event at the Venetian, I am feeling really good about my game at the moment as I chopped another tournament at the Aria last week where I got the biggest chunk of money due to a good chip lead. Ideally, I want to play 1 WSOP per week and 1 Venetian deeptacks per week and spend the other days playing cash games as they are so juicy during that period. But I might add more tournaments if I do really good.

I am so grateful for my life and everything that is going on right now. I am one lucky girl!
:)