Coming up this Friday, poker’s finest players and stars from Hollywood will once again step to the felt to take part in what has become one of the top charitable poker enterprises in the industry.

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The Charity Series of Poker, established in 2014 by poker professional Matt All In At 420Stout, has crisscrossed the United States since its inception, helping out many outstanding causes. Last year at this time, CSOP held its second ever event during the running of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida and will return this Friday for its second annual event.

As it did in 2014, the 2015 CSOP charitable tournament will benefit the Broward County Habitat for Humanity and Habitat for Humanity International, who will split the proceeds.

“It’s great to be back at the Hard Rock for our second annual CSOP event benefiting Habitat for Humanity,” Stout, the president of the CSOP, stated to PocketFives. “Our inaugural event at the Planet Hollywood in Vegas and our annual event at the Borgata also mean a lot to me, but the way that Hard Rock gets behind us for this event can’t be matched and Habitat was the first charity I ever got involved with when I was 17. Both organizations hold a special place in my heart, which makes this my favorite CSOP event of the year.”

With the Main Event for the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open starting on Saturday, there are going to be plenty of celebrities and poker professionals in town for the CSOP event. The festivities will begin at 5PM with a pre-party to kick off the evening at the L Bar at Seminole Hard Rock (pictured).

Until 7PM, players, organizers, and celebrities such as actors Ashley Greene (Twilight), Mekhi Phifer (ER, Dawn of the Dead), and Sasha Barrese (The Hangover) will partake in the open bar and $5,000 in giveaways from Hard Rock, with such prizes as a three-night trip to the Hard Rock Punta Cana, dinner at the Hard Rock Hollywood, and a guitar autographed by the legendary Elvis Costello.

At 7PM, the tournament action kicks off. Open to the public, the $300 buy-in tournament ($140 of it will go to the prize pool, $140 will go to the charitable causes, and $20 in juice) will draw the above actors and players such as recently crowned World Series of Poker National Champion Loni Harwood; World Poker Tour champions Anthony Zinno, Marvin Rettenmaier, Will Failla and Jared Jaffee; Matt Glantz; Allen Kesslerl and Stout (pictured below).

CSOP will put up two $1,000 prizes, one for the person who is holding the chip lead at the end of the late registration period and another for the person who makes the most rebuys in the tournament.

There will be a cash pool that the players are striving for, but the additional prizes offered by Hard Rock might be better than the cash. The eventual champion of the tournament will receive a buy-in to the next day’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event, a $5300 value, while second through tenth will receive these prizes:

2nd Place: A six-night stay at the Hard Rock in Punta Cana, entry into the Punta Cana Poker Classic Main Event, transportation to and from the Punta Cana International Airport, unlimited food and beverage credit, $1,500 in resort credit, $1,000 in travel money and other amenities.
3rd Place: A stay at any Hard Rock property in the United States valued at $2,000 and $1000 in travel expenses.
4th Place: Quarterbacks of the Century signed jersey.
5th Place: John Elway Signed Jersey
6th Place: Dan Marino Signed Jersey
7th Place: Hard Rock “Goodie Bag” consisting of a four-piece Samsonite luggage set, Panasonic underwater camera, and other items
8th Place: Dinner at the Hard Rock Hollywood, a one-night stay, and an autographed guitar from former Guns N’ Roses axe man Slash
9th Place: Hard Rock Duffel Bag with extras
10th Place: Dinner at the Hard Rock Hollywood, a one-night stay, and an autographed guitar from magicians Penn & Teller

It is easy to see the partnership between the CSOP and the Hard Rock is a strong one. “The Hard Rock has really gone above and beyond to use the CSOP to mark the beginning of the SHRPO main events,” Stout commented. “We run it the night before their biggest $5K Main Event of the year in order to give traveling pros as well as local poker players and Habitat supporters an opportunity to join in the fun.”

With all of the cash prizes and extra booty added by the Seminole Hard Rock available, it is highly likely that the CSOP will best last year’s fundraising totals for this tournament. In 2014, $29,400 was raised by the tournament, with both the Broward County Habitat for Humanity and Habitat for Humanity International the beneficiaries of $14,700 each.

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