Those Ocean's boys are no joke! I am such a fan of their sustained attention to the crisis in Darfur . . . it seems that every few weeks they participate in a new charity fundrasier/awareness-raiser. They are not taking "no" for an answer and are refusing to let the genocide go untended to. Their latest effort? Forking up the chips for a poker tournament. Don Cheadle co-hosted the event along with poker champion Annie Duke. A few of that famous Ocean's 13 crew made sure to play their hands and were joined by a long list of other celebrities.

Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Jason Alexander, Jennifer Tilly, Hank Azaria, George Clooney, Matt Damon, George Lopez, Danny Masterson, Mekhi Phifer, Ray Romano, Brad Garret, Adam Sandler, Gina Gershon, Shannon Elizabeth and James Wood all got in on the game.

The World Series of Poker flexed its social conscience Thursday evening as 170 celebrities and poker pros played a charity tournament to raise money and awareness for the human rights catastrophe in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Hank Azaria and Shannon Elizabeth were among the celebrities who braved the WSOP red carpet to play with the likes of Annie Duke, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Phil Gordon and Daniel Negreanu in Ante Up for Africa .

Each player paid $5,000 to enter the tournament. Organizers have "suggested" that the winners donate more than 50% of the winnings to the Enough project and the International Rescue Committee – charities designated by the tournament because of their history of helping in Darfur.

Civil war has wrecked the Darfur region of Sudan , leaving more than 500,000 people dead and 2 million displaced refugees. (source)

Related Causes:      Genocide in Darfur