Malvern poker tourney will raise funds to fight bone disease

Malvern poker tourney will raise funds to fight bone disease

Area poker players looking to test their skills against a pro while donating to a good cause can get their card-playing fix next weekend in Malvern, at the Mallie's Friends Charity Poker No-Limit Texas Hold'em tournament.

Mallie Holman, a kindergartner at Glen Acres Elementary School in the West Chester Area School District, has Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI),commonly known as Brittle Bone Disease. The five-year-old has suffered more than two dozen fractures, including a life-threatening skull fracture. In search of a way to raise funds for OI research, her family created the non-profit in her name.

Plenty of tickets are still available for the Texas hold'em event, which will be held at the Malvern Fire Hall on Saturday, Oct. 6. Registration is noon to 1 p.m.; play runs from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Contestants must be 21 or older.

Buy-in is $100, $80 of which is tax-deductible, and the event will include food, beer, raffles, and a grand prize of a 42-inch plasma-screen television and two AirTran Airways tickets.

Players will go up against poker pro Brian Haveson, and the lucky player who knocks him out will win a bounty prize.

All proceeds will go towards the OI Foundation. The Malvern Fire Hall is located at 424 East King Street in Malvern. For more information on the event, or to register, visit malliesfriends.com.

   Will Hobson