News Archive: February 2007
Fat Sam's Grand Slam
17th February 2007 - The Results
Nigel Tuohy, one of the fantastic
dealers at Fat Sam's. Respect is
due for the "Spiv" Moustache alone!
As planned, on Saturday 27th of January, both Fat Sam's Grand Slam Poker Tournament, and the Boss of Bosses freeform ran, and the day was a roaring success. We do not unfortunately have photos of Boss of Bosses, but as he did last year, Ozzy Beck has taken photos of the poker tournament and posted them on a website where they can be viewed by all and sundry. If you want to see any more of Ozzy's work, have a look at his own website: www.karohemd.co.uk/.
Now the answer to the Big Questions: How Much Did We Raise? and Where Did the Money Go?
Well, the pot for the Grand Slam itself (which included money paid for Boss of Bosses) came to £396, to which Gift Aid of £110.88 gets added, together with a matched donation of £396 from Graham's employers, the Abbey, bringing the total raised to £902.88.
But that's not all... due to the generosity of the players who were knocked out of the Big Game early, the Down But Not Out poker tournament raised a further £130 on the night, which with Gift Aid and Matched Donations added, comes to £296.40, making a Grand Total of £1199.28!
So Who Won, and Who Gets the Cash?
Patience! Patience! I got me a Tommy Gun right here, and I'm not afraid to use it!
The Grand Slam
Carole
“Poker Virgin”
Arnold
First Place: Carole Arnold
Nominated Charity: Sparkles
Amount Won: £451.44 (Including £198 from Abbey, and £55.44 Gift Aid).
To say that Carole was a surprise winner would be an understatement. Having never played before, she spent most of the evening honing her skills on one of the Poker Virgin's tables, and when promoted to the top table for the final, not only held her own, but actually increased her chip-stack. Her choice of charity, a local organisation set up to help children with Down Syndrome, including Carole's son, was the popular and deserving winner of the biggest prize of the night.
Gary O'Connell
Second Place: Gary O'Connell
Nominated Charity: Sutton Mencap
Amount Won: £300.96 (Including £132 from Abbey, and £36.96 Gift Aid).
A familiar face from last year's tournament, Gary has suffered in the last twelve months, from having a wife who came second in the Big Game last year, while he (as she has not tired of reminding him) only came 3rd in the "Loser's Tournament"! Revenge was sweet this time round, as Emma was unplaced, while he snatched 2nd place in the most dramatic final hand imaginable. He was gentlemanly enough however to donate his winnings to Sutton Mencap, the charity where Emma works.
For the Poker Geeks out there, Gary went All In with 6 & 2 unsuited, versus Andy Montague's perfectly respectable set of Club Royals. The flop saw Gary take an early lead, as another 6 and 2 gave him 2 pairs. The Turn changed nothing, except to set up a possible Flush Draw for Andy, which came good on the River card. Just as Andy was about to grab the chips however, the dealer, Graham "Fat Sam" Arnoldini himself, pointed out that the River card was a 6, which not only gave Andy the flush, but gave Gary a full house; Sixes over Deuces, and the winning hand!
Andy
“The Full”
Montague
Third Place: Andy Montague
Nominated Charity: The Sarmaritans
Amount Won: £150.48 (Including £66 from Abbey, and £18.48 Gift Aid).
A regular poker player, Andy held his own steadily all evening, and was placed second going into the final hand, until in a bid for the lead, he lost out to Gary's outrageous piece of "death or glory" fortune. Still well-stacked enough to retain 3rd place however, Andy gave his winnings to the Samaritans.
The Down But Not Out Game
Tony
“The Man in the Hat”
Mitton
First Place: Tony Mitton
Nominated Charity: Sutton Mencap
Amount Won: £143.64 (Including £63 from Abbey, and £17.64 Gift Aid).
Unplaced last year, Tony put in a strong performance in the runner up game this time round, in order to provide a second donation of the evening for Sutton Mencap, who received a total of £444.60 from the night. Tony was also the mind behind Boss of Bosses, the freeform game that he ran for us to great appreciation during the afternoon.
Chris
“Pocket Rocket”
Miles
Second Place: Chris Miles
Nominated Charity: RNLI
Amount Won: £95.76 (Including £42 from Abbey, and £11.76 Gift Aid).
As well as coming second in the Down But Not Out tournament, Chris was also the proud winner of the Morgan 'Mad Dog' McGhee award for buying into the game the most times. Chris attributes his change in fortune in the latter part of the evening, to the fact that it took him that long to get drunk! A keen sailor, Chris donated his winnings to the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.
Matt & Paul
Third Place: Matt Harman Smith... or possibly Paul Norris
Nominated Charity: Tree Aid
Amount Won: £57 (Including £25 from Abbey, and £7 Gift Aid).
Slightly embarrassingly, there seems to be some confusion about who actually won this prize! We have in our records, Paul Norris, but Ozzy's photo of the prize ceremony says it was Matt! What is not in doubt was that the final charity prize of the evening went to Tree Aid, a charity dedicated to planting and protecting trees in Africa, in villages where 90% of the population depend on them for basic survival. Whoever won the prize, Matt definitely walked away with the award for the most dapper chap of the night.
And Finally...
Katherine
“Straight Kate”
Taylor
Winning no money for charity, but winning the personal laurels for best female costume of the night, Katherine "Straight Kate" Taylor. It's well worth checking out Ozzy's photos to see the full-size version of this picture. As long as you have sun-glasses.
23rd January 2007 - Getting Close Now
Only four days to go, and we have more or less filled all the places in the Boss of Bosses game*, and have a healthy number of people booked for the poker tournament, with several others still to confirm. If you have not yet confirmed, please let us know you are coming as soon as possible, so that we can get the right amount of food! Also, please make sure that we know:
- Your Chosen Charity (if playing poker)
- Any dietary requirements (vegetarian/vegan, allergies & intolerancies)
- A poker nickname (with or without gangster theme)
If possible, advance payment is much appreciated, remember that it costs extra to pay on the door, but as all the money goes to charity in any case, we won't be losing sleep over it!
*If you still want to play in Boss of Bosses but have not signed up yet, we might be able to squeeze you in, but you're leaving it very late!
31st December 2006 - Endings and Beginnings
2007 is upon us, and we have belatedly got off our Christmas Dinner-laden backsides and launched the run up to our second Charity Poker Tournament: Fat Sam's Grand Slam. The 2006 event, back in February, saw the Wild West descend upon Leighton Buzzard, and raised over £1,000 for charity in the process. For 2007, we move to Prohibition Era Chicago, in the hope that pinstripes and spats will prove even more successful than frock-coats and hats!
Also, new for 2007, anyone who has ever wanted to play the part of a Prohibition Era gangster will get the opportunity to do so in our Freeform game, Boss of Bosses, created for us by Tony Mitton. Boss of Bosses will run during the afternoon, at the same venue as the Poker Tournament, and will start at about 2pm (exact schedules to be confirmed shortly). The Tournament itself begins as soon after 7pm as we have enough players around tables to start, and you are welcome to participate in either or both events, although Boss of Bosses is limited to 25 people, and places are allocated strictly on a first-come, first-served basis.
So, to sign up for either or both events, send us an email on 
,
and we look forward to seeing you there.