Stars Gather For Annual Poker Event

Allan Houston is the Assistant General Manager of the Knicks, and most people would think he’s got his hands full especially considering the off-season the Knicks have just had. As we’ve come out the other end clasping to our star player, the day-to-day rigmarole of assisting the running a basketball team or playing for that matter, was never enough for Houston.

The Foundation was started in 2001 to initially donate money to help the unfortunate families that were affected by the 9/11 tragedy. After that the Foundation helped initiate a series of welcomed projects around New York such as:

– NY Community Trust (2001-2004)
– My Teacher is a Hero Award (2001-2003)
– Allan Houston Celebrity Golf Classic (2002)
– Winter Wonderland at the Intrepid Museum (2004)
– Operation Heathy Kids with Harlem YMCA (2006)

The projects above are just some of the notable programs that the Foundation has been able to fund over the years. However, one of the most influential recent events that Houston’s has been curating is the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation Charity Poker Event. The event attracts a host of professional poker players, Knicks stars including Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire and also some of New York’s finest celebrities have been in attendance.

The idea to use a poker tournament as the fundraiser was an easy choice, with many sports using poker as a vehicle to raise money for charitable causes. You only have to look at Tiger Woods’ Tiger Jam yearly poker event to see why it can be so appealing for many foundations to raise money for charity. And what with the network of superstars at such events, it’s easy to raise substantial amounts. The last Allan Houston Legacy Poker Event raised $250,000 while Tiger Jam managed to raise a total close to $500,000.

With the Legacy Foundation continuing to provide vital funds for underprivileged children around the New York area, they see the poker event as a vital catalyst to their yearly fundraising. Poker has been the catalyst to raise money for many worthy causes since it first started to infiltrate mainstream television via the World Series of Poker. Followed by the Internet poker craze, which saw the first wagering casino portal being launched in 1996 through InterCasino, the public buying into the Moneymaker Effect and poker idols such as Phil Ivey – poker became a very marketable sport. None more so that the flamboyant Canadian Daniel Negreanu.

Allan Houston may have one of the busiest schedules in the game but with the Legacy Foundation he is giving back to the humbling beginings in which he came from. Many people have benefitted from the Foundation, and with more interest annually, the Foundation seems to be going from strength to strength. And Houston has no intention of slowing down either.