Celebrities learn when to hold'em, when to fold 'em

BY BILL DOLAN Times Staff Writer | Sunday, May 09, 2004

GARY -- Finally, the answer to Northwest Indiana's environmental degradation, public corruption and property tax ruination -- The Bud Light Girls.

The girls made their local appearance Saturday night at Trump Casino escorted by several radio, television and Hollywood personalities, who played some card game for charity.

Trump and the WCKG-FM Chicago radio station billed it as the Steve Dahl Celebrity Poker Tournament.

Others accompanying the Bud Light Girls included Father Guido Sarducci, aka Don Novello; Amy Jacobson, a reporter for NBC Channel 5; Gale Sayers, legendary Chicago Bears running back; and Tony Darrow, who has played a number of mobsters, including Larry Boy on the "Sopranos" and Sonny Bunz in "Goodfellas."

Jeff Garlin of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Mad About You" and "Daddy Day Care;" Federico Castelluccio who plays Furio Giunta in "Sopranos" and Mike Starr who played in "Goodfellas," "Dumb and Dumber and "Jersey Girl" also dropped by for the event.

They played in the chandeliered third level of the Trump boat docked at Buffington Harbor in front of about 70 fans. Its the largest poker room in the Midwest, according to Eric Kraus, assistant casino manager.

The celebrities joked and frolicked their way through a number of hands of Texas Hold'em with the casinos' chips.

The players used their prep time to read a tutorial describing the game as a deceptively simple to learn, but hard to master.

"I don't have a clue what I'm doing," Starr yelled out during a practice game.

Each player is dealt two personal cards and the dealer turns up five community cards. The players try to make the best poker hand using any combination of cards.

The Bud Light Girls, armed with clip boards, sidled up to the players and whispered in their ears. Kraus said the girls only were recording the personal cards of each player to help the NBC producer televise the game for broadcast sometime in June.

The winner got to donate $10,000 in Trump prize money to their favorite charity.

Bill Dolan can be reached at bdolan@nwitimes.com or (219) 662-5328. ON THE AIR:
Jack Binion, owner of the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond was interviewed at the Hammond location in February for a History Channel network show, "The History of Poker," which is scheduled to air from 7-8 tonight.
The broadcast traces poker through U.S. history -- from the early 19th century, when French settlers played the game in New Orleans, across the frontier with gambling legends such as Wild Bill Hickok, up to today's high-profile Vegas tournaments, according to the History Channel Web site.
According to the Web site, re-enactments, first-hand accounts and a demonstration of poker will also be apart of the broadcast.