Industry Poker Players All In for Support
OBERLIN, Ohio – Think you’re the best poker player in the stone industry? Are you willing to put your money down for bragging rights to the whole industry? If so, the Natural Stone Foundation (NSF) wants you.
A group of donors to the Natural Stone Foundation (NSF) is hosting the first ever All in for Natural Stone Poker Tournament this coming Nov. 14 to raise money for the Natural Stone Foundation and another charity dear to the hearts of many in the industry, the Gary Sinise Foundation.
The on-line tournament is currently seeking both sponsors and players for the event, which will be held on Zoom utilizing Poker4Life.org, and is expected to last four to five hours as the number of contestants dwindles down to a champion.
Jonathan Zanger, a former NSI president and current NSF board member, drew on his experience with past charity poker tournaments to propose the All in for Natural Stone Poker Tournament.
Zanger explains that for several years he attended in-person poker tournaments to raise funds for the Buoniconti Fund, a major supporter of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
“That was their main fundraiser,” Zanger explains. “When COVID came, they developed a platform to do an online tournament, and it was so successful that they’ve continued online and developed an online platform for other charities and non-profits to use.
“When I became aware of it, I thought that would be perfect for the foundation because the stone industry is scattered all over the United States, and really all over the world,” he adds. “Using the platform, all that’s needed is an internet connection and a computer, to play from almost anywhere in the world.”
The organizing committee’s most-immediate need is for sponsors for the event. Zanger says the number of sponsors is being kept small, with one grand sponsor for $15,000.
“That will include the company’s name on all the tables, as well as 10 $150 buy-ins and 10 $150 re-buys,” he explains. “The sponsorship can donate cash or prizes, or a combination of the two.”
Because of gambling laws, cash can’t be awarded to the winners. However, prizes can include items such as gift cards. Zanger suggested one option might be two plane tickets and a hotel room for The International Surface Event (TISE) at the end of January in Las Vegas. Of course, entries to other tournaments, sports events, dinner vouchers, or other prizes will all be considered.
Along with a grand sponsor, the organizers are seeing five platinum sponsors at $7,500 each, and another five gold sponsors at $5,000 each. Each of those sponsorships would include buy-ins and re-buys, and mention on the event’s web landing page and in all advertising and press releases.
The organizers are also contemplating adding a smaller sponsorship option, but Zanger says the goal is to keep the number of sponsors small, mainly to cover the costs of putting on the tournament.
“Obviously, we have to pay to put on the tournament,” Zanger says. “We’ll have to pay for a website to collect the money and dispense it, and whatever other fees there might be.”
However, he stresses that all money raised will be divided between the Natural Stone Foundation and the Gary Sinise Foundation on a 75-25 split.
Sponsorships aren’t the only way for companies to participate in the tournament – the best way to enjoy and participate is playing, of course. An individual entry is only $150.00, and companies can purchase packages of entries and re-buys, at a substantial discount.
The organizers are also looking for companies to underwrite individual prizes. For example, if a business wants to donate a $1,000 gift card that would serve as the third-place prize, the firm will be duly publicized. And, again, such an investment will also come with a certain amount of buy-ins and re-buys.
Zanger explains that those can then be shared with employees or vendors or clients.
“You can host your own Zoom Room,” he says. “There’s going to be a Zoom Room for the whole tournament, but there will also be individual Zoom Rooms. You can have your own Zoom Room for your clients. And people who are playing in the tournament can mix with the sponsors.”
Zanger says even a small fabrication shop could offer a prize for its employee who does the best in the tournament – or who knocks off the boss. He also hopes they will talk it up among the general contractors, architects, designers and developers they work with who are poker players.
The bottom line is that organizers hope to attract as many players as possible and then with add-ons and re-buys to keep them playing as long as they can. The platform is limited to approximately 350 people, but should there be enough interest, then it would be possible to start a second tournament that would probably be held the same day, but at a different time.
He adds that everyone at the final table will get a prize, as will the “bubble boy,” the last person to lose before the final table is set.
While Zanger is an enthusiastic player, he also says for those who aren’t at all familiar with the game or who play infrequently but would like to participate, the game will be Texas Hold ‘Em, which is currently the most-popular style of poker.
“It’s an easy game to learn although it’s a tough game to master,” Zanger says. “There’s plenty of time to practice between now and the tournament, there are plenty of websites where you can learn how to play Hold ‘Em, and you can watch tournaments online. Part of it is skill and part of it is luck, and we’re hoping to do this every year, so you don’t have to win this year to get bragging rights.”
Working with Zanger on organizing the All in for Natural Stone Poker Tournament are NSI President Katie Jensen, NSF board members Kevin Camarata, Brie Pfannenbecker and Greg Osterhout, and former NSI board member Bernie Van Etten, who’s active in the Gary Sinise Foundation.
Stone industry members wanting to know more about the tournament and how they can get involved should email all.in.for.stone@gmail.com. Zanger says a landing page for the organization should be available soon.
