Posted on Mon
May. 02, 2005

I knew when to fold 'em, but unfortunately not when to texas hold 'em, Friday when I played in the second annual Celebrity Poker Challenge at the President Casino on the Admiral.

The St. Louis riverfront casino held the tournament to benefit charity and generate some good buzz for poker, the hot game of the moment, and it's Saint Louie's Poker Room.

The poker tournament was a chance to win $2,000 or smaller second- and third-place prizes to donate to the charity of your choice. Even if you didn't win a poker news hand, which I didn't, your charity got $100.

There were 20 of us, including some people who actually are celebrities such as Rich Gould, Channel 11 sports director, the venerable Jay Randolph, Ron Jacober, radio personalities Guy Phillips and John Carney, former St. Louis Blues player Tony Twist and TV anchor Donna Savarese.

I figure it was Savarese sitting next to me who most likely distracted me and threw me off my game. Ed Goodman of KEZK-FM radio won. Gould finished second and Twist was third.
Chris Strobbe, vice president and manager of the President, said the casino has always tried to be a good corporate citizen and to be involved with area charities.

"We don't forget the metro-east," he said. "In fact 60 percent of employees from the metro-east." It never hurts to have a few celebrities around to publicize poker, either. Not that poker needs that much of a boost. Strobbe said the popularity of poker has skyrocketed in the past couple of years mostly due to national poker tournaments and television exposure.

"It has brought in a new type of customer for us," he said. "Everyone is playing poker. It really has enhanced all our table games play. "When the poker tables are full, they go to other games."
He said casino poker in St. Louis started out with the President and Ameristar.
"Harrah's added a poker room and we saw an increase in our play," he said. "People became more aware." He said their business was 80 percent in