Doug
Cassada threw the rest of his chips
onto the table and placed his two
cards, face up, in front of him.
Mr. Cassada had an ace and a four
and hoped when the dealer turned the
remaining five cards, he would be a
winner.
The game was Texas HoldEm, and he
was one of 11 players who
participated in the first qualifying
round of the day. The charity poker
tournament began Friday night and
will conclude when the winners of
the earlier rounds meet today. The
prize? Close to $2,000 if the
anticipated 200 to 250 players sign
up.
Yesterday, Mr. Cassada, 68, a
retiree from Ottawa Lake, came up
lucky when he bet it all. "I want to
adopt this kid," he said as fellow
player Joe Benarth, 30, dealt two
more aces in a row, giving Mr.
Cassada three of a kind.
In Texas HoldEm, each player is
dealt two cards face down and then
five other cards are dealt face up
for all to see and upon which to
make progressive bets. As the bets
get higher, the pool of players
becomes smaller, said Vic Gauger, a
member of the Toledo Poker Tour,
which organized yesterday's event.
He admitted there are several
reasons that bring players to a
poker tournament. Some come because
they can plop down $75 and possibly
walk away with $2,000. Others come
for the thrill of the game.
"There is a lot of pride at a poker
table," Mr. Gauger said. "These guys
come from very competitive
backgrounds."
Half of the $75 entry fee is
disbursed as prize money. Forty
percent of it will go to the Jeremy
Lincoln Foundation for disadvantaged
families.
Lou Cocchiarella, 52, of Springfield
Township showed up too late to play
in the 10 a.m. qualifying round
yesterday, but returned at 3 p.m. An
employee of Catholic Charities, Mr.
Cocchiarella admitted all of what he
knows about the game was what he has
seen on television shows such as
ESPN's World Series of Poker or the
Celebrity Poker Showdown on the
Bravo cable network. But he was
willing to give it a shot.
"I'm one of the sheep they're going
to fleece," he said, laughing.
With his eyes shielded by
sunglasses, Ken Lumbrezer gazed at
his cards, or maybe his opponents.
The 21-year-old Maumee resident said
he plays the game as many as five
times a week because he thrives on
the challenge.
"It's like a mental war against
other people," he said. "I've just
been hooked."
Clay Russell, 57, a truck driver
from Tiffin, left his table about an
hour into the tournament, saying he
was heading out to "lick his
wounds." Although he didn't come out
the big winner, Mr. Russell said his
heart was racing with the excitement
a poker game brings.
"I play golf, but there's no way I'm
going to get in a tournament with
the best players," he said. "In this
game, you can because of the luck
involved. If you get the cards and
play them right, you can win."
The qualifying round will resume at
2 p.m. today at the First Unitarian
Church of Toledo, 2210 Collingwood
Blvd. The finals are scheduled for 8
p.m. Players must be 18 or older.
