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Cleveland is known for being the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and is currently known as a ‘hotspot’ for sports fans of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. This year the Forest City is hoping that poker will really heat up their city this year. After a huge success last year, Cleveland will bring back the , and this time it will be even bigger than last year’s version, with twice the amount of tournaments. The Nautica Charity Poker Festival proves that poker is a great way raise money for charity, or in the case of this event, multiple charities. There was a total of $450,000 raised during last year’s event; an average of $35,000 was raised for each charity involved in the tournaments. This year’s poker tournament has double the events and organizers plan to raise $1 million for Cleveland-area-charities. "We conducted a successful and profitable festival last year," explained Kevin Hartman, the coordinator of Athletics & Student Activities for the Garfield Heights City School District. "We are glad to be returning in 2006." This year’s event will consist of 24 separate poker tournaments each hosted by one of the city’s non-profit groups. The events will begin on April 27th and run through to October 8th. The summer heat will not be a worry for the players sitting at the tournament’s tables; all events will be held in the spacious and air-conditioned Festival Center, located in the heart of Cleveland. In addition to some great poker action, each Nautica Charity Poker Festival event will feature lots of activities for the whole family and will educate it’s patrons with information about the charity hosting the event. "We are pleased that all of the participating charities from 2005 are returning in 2006," stated David C. Grunenwald, Vice-President of Development/Leasing for Jacobs Investments, Inc., owner and operator of the Nautica and the coordinator of the Festivals. "They will be joined by nine new charities all of whom seek to raise much needed funds from an entirely new source," he added.
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