The 2nd Annual Chad Brown Memorial Tournament saw over a hundred players filter into Planet Hollywood to pay their respects and raise money for charity.
“It’s so heart-warming to see so many familiar faces out here to support this amazing cause,” said host Maria Ho, who was filling in for Vanessa Rousso, who is currently on Big Brother 17.
Liv Boeree, Vanessa Selbst, Shane Warne, Shannon Shorr and Jen Shahade were among the many poker pros who showed up.
Sponsors from all segments of the poker industry contributed to the prize pool including Caesars Entertainment, PokerStars, WPT Travel and more. Some of the prizes included a $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat and a $10,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Seat.
The $240 (with $100 add-on/rebuys) buy-in tournament was raising funds for the T.J. Martell Foundation and will eventually go towards the Sarcoma branch of the foundation. Sarcoma is the specific cancer that took Brown’s life.
Jennifer Tilly, Nolan Dalla Speak About Brown
Before the tournament started a collection of poker personalities spoke about how Brown’s life affected them personally including Jennifer Tilly.
“Towards the end my ex-husband [Sam Simon] got terminal cancer about the same time as Chad,” said Tilly. “I just remember how concerned he was about Sam. He would call me up and send me emails about various doctors and medications.
“I think that sums up Chad in a nutshell. He was always so generous and thinking about other people over himself. He was a wonderful person. I think the poker community really misses him.”
Jennifer Winters, an event organizer for the T.J. Martell Foundation and a close friend of Browns, mirrored that statement.
“We are all here for Chad Brown and to raise funds for this wonderful cause,” she said.
“Our goal is to make sure Chad’s legacy lives on. He made a difference and he was a huge ambassador for the sport.”
Nolan Dolla, a long time poker media veteran and current WSOP media cordinator, quoted Dr. Suess in a short speech about Brown’s legacy.
“Let us not cry because Chad Brown’s life is over, let us rejoice, let us smile because his life happened and we were also privileged to know him,” he said.
Here are some photos from the event:
Visit www.pokerlistings.com