Put on Your Poker Face -- Broadway Bets Raises Funds for BC/EFA

An evening of revelry and friendly rivalry is in the cards for the theater community when Broadway Bets, Broadway's official poker tournament, returns for its third edition on Monday, May 15, 2017. The event is produced by and benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Broadway stars, industry insiders, and theater lovers will come together at the theater district's beloved Sardi's Restaurant at 234 West 44th Street for a friendly Texas Hold 'em tournament. Novices and aces alike are welcome, and anyone can win the coveted title of the third Broadway Bets (#BroadwayBets) champion. Prizes will be awarded to players who make the final table.

Doors for Broadway Bets open for cocktails at 7:30 p.m.; the tournament begins at 8 p.m. All ticketing levels include hors d'oeuvres and an open bar. Tickets start at $150 and are available now at broadwaycares.org.

The event is co-chaired by Elliot Greene, executive vice president of The Shubert Organization, and Marla Ostroff, executive vice president of arts and theater at Ticketmaster. Paul Libin, executive vice president of Jujamcyn Theaters and BC/EFA Board of Trustees president, and Robert E. Wankel, President and co-CEO of The Shubert Organization and BC/EFA executive vice president, serve as founding co-chairs.

Micah Hollingworth of Jujamcyn Theaters, Mark Shacket of Foresight Theatrical, and Brett Sirota of The Road Company will return to serve as tournament directors.

Stepping up as the "Royal Flush" bar sponsor for this year's event is "Hello, Dolly!."

Initial "Full House" table sponsors are AKA, Ambassador Theatre Group, The Araca Group, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," Entertainment Benefits Group, Foresight Theatrical, The John Gore Organization (Broadway.com/Broadway Across America), Jujamcyn Theaters, MagicSpace Entertainment, The Nederlander Organization, The Road Company, Road Concierge/ALTOUR, Serino Coyne, The Shubert Organization, SpotCo, Ticketmaster and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Sweet Hospitality Group has signed on as a "Two pair" half-table sponsor.

Texas Hold 'em-style tournaments begin with each player receiving an equal amount of chips. Two blinds are posted per hand to force the action. As play progresses, the amount of the blind bets increase. As players drop out, tables are combined until there is one final table of players competing for the championship title.

For those who haven't quite mastered their poker face, guest passes offer a chance to observe the poker table action and play other casino games with an opportunity to win prizes. All prizes will be announced later this spring.

Last year's tournament raised a record-breaking $247,800 as James Seidel, a guest of Tony Award nominee Tony Yazbeck, bested Bryan LaPlant and a final Broadway Bets table of eight other players to win the title of Broadway Bets champion.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources, and generosity of the American theater community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised more than $285 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the major supporter of the social service programs at The Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative and the Samuel J. Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts. Broadway Cares also awards annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC.

For more information, please visit Broadway Cares online at broadwaycares.org, at facebook.com/BCEFA, at instagram.com/BCEFA, at twitter.com/BCEFA and youtube.com/BCEFA.