Team7Deuce Puts a Bad Beat on Cancer

I am pleased to announce that every member of Team7Deuce has taken the 1% pledge to work with the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and will be donating 1% of all of our poker winnings to “Putting a Bad Beat on Cancer.” This is obviously a topic that hits very close to home, as my fiancé Traci, put the ultimate Bad Beat on Cancer by surviving Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma with a successful Bone Marrow Transplant over 6 years ago. This announcement comes just days after her 6 year anniversary.

I had been chatting with co-founder Rafe Furst, a WSOP bracelet winner in the 2006 $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’Em event. I found out about his affiliation with the group and all of his efforts, and immediately took action by taking it to the home game just last night. Rafe, along with Phil Gordon had a tremendous idea at the 2003 WSOP that grew like wildfire.

“It dawned on us that if players pledged just one percent of their winnings to the Prevent Cancer Foundation as a tax-deductible donation,” explains Phil, “it would go a long way in reaching the public about the achievability of preventing cancer.” So they lobbied their friends in the poker community and the Bad Beat on Cancer initiative took off. Before they knew it, 80 players had pledged enough money to fund a promising research grant for an entire year.

Bad Beat on Cancer has grown exponentially since 2003. Thousands of amateur and professional players across the country and around the world are pledging to put a Bad Beat on Caner – from home leagues (like Pablosplace) on up to the World Series of Poker. The initiative grew even further when Phil and Rafe partnered with the Foundation to launch “I’ll Raise You A Million” – a year-long fundraising campaign beginning with the 2006 World Series of Poker, and ending with the 2007 Capitol Hill Bad Beat on Cancer Poker Tournament. Their $1 million goal was met in just 10 months!

I would encourage everyone to join me and my fellow members of Team7Deuce in donating 1% of their winnings to a charity foundation as instrumental as The Prevent Cancer foundation. The main goal behind their program is to one day, we can envision a future where cancer incidence and mortality will be significantly reduced through preventative measures. Their mission is carried out in 3 main ways:

- By funding research that helps us understand how to prevent cancer
- By educating the public about how to prevent cancer
- By reaching out to communities across the country through our resources, events and partnerships with other organizations.

To learn more about the Prevent Cancer Foundation, please visit http://www.preventcancer.org