Celebrities ante up for Opportunity Village poker fundraiser

Mark Bowers/www.ReallyVegas.com

Opportunity Village’s 5th Annual Celebrity Poker Tournament at Caesars Palace on April 10, 2010. Jersey Boys cast members and 2010 Miss Nevada Christina Keegan are pictured here.

By Robin Leach (contact)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 | 2:32 p.m.

Opportunity Village's 5th Annual Celebrity Poker Tournament

Launch slideshow »

TVT

Opportunity Village's 5th Annual Celebrity Poker Tournament at Caesars Palace on April 10, 2010 . Carrot Top is pictured here.

Strip comedienne Rita Rudner, who admitted that she didn’t have a clue about how to play poker, nearly won the Opportunity Village celebrity tournament, even if it meant her standing up for most of the time and threatening to get up on the table. Rita was just one of many Strip celebrities who turned up to support our beloved local charity’s fundraiser at the Caesars Palace Poker Room.

Also in attendance: Adam Savage of Mythbusters, Full Tilt Poker’s Perry Friedman, 2010 Miss Nevada Christina Keegan, Kevin Burke of Defending the Caveman at the Excalibur, Howard Lederer, the cast of Jersey Boys at the Palazzo, Carrot Top, Angelica Bridges with her Fantasy showgirls from the Luxor and Thunder Down Under from Excalibur.

Event co-host Emily Jillette, Jersey Boys cast members and two Caesars showgirls managed to stay into the final rounds. Rita crushed her competition and played all the way down into the Final 12 without ever having played poker before. Jeremy Jenson won the charity tournament: Ace Jack suited, flops flush!

Actor Patrick Gallagher, who has roles on Glee and True Blood, showed up at the tournament. Patrick is dating Emily’s sister-in-law Molly Weiner, and they posed for our photo gallery.

It was the fourth annual tournament for Opportunity Village and the biggest crowd of supporters to date. With a little more luck, next year’s tournament might require a larger main room.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.