ACFE Charity Poker Tournament Results
/Each of the last three years that we have held the ACFE Global Fraud Conference in Las Vegas, the local Las Vegas Chapter organized and hosted a charity poker tournament benefiting the ACFE Foundation. The first year we hosted this tournament was in 2016, and there were 18 competitors. Two years later, we were back in Las Vegas and had 43 participants. This year was our largest event with 50 people battling each other for a cash prize of $600 or a free entry to next year’s ACFE Global Fraud Conference.
The buy-in for this event was $125. Of that, $100 went to the ACFE Foundation and $25 went to the casino. If somebody lost all their chips within the first hour, they could rebuy for $100, which all went to the Foundation. In total, there were 15 rebuys. Between the entry fees and rebuys, the tournament raised $6,500 for the ACFE Foundation, which is nearly $2,000 more than the last tournament.
Among the 50participants were conference attendees, chapter leaders and even two ACFE staff members, including me (Joe Broccolo). I would be lying if I said my colleague and I remained in the tournament late into the evening, but we had a lot of fun while it lasted.
Below are the results of the tournament:
1st Place – Eric Rodriguez ($600)
2nd Place – Paul Kim ($300)
3rd Place – Leslie Marone ($300)
4th Place – Michelle Matthews ($150)
5th Place – Lee Denton (ACFE Foundation mug)
Our grand prize winner and ACFE Heartland President had the option of receiving a complimentary registration to next year’s conference or receiving $600 cash. He chose the cash and promptly donated it back to the ACFE Foundation. Leslie Marone received her prize of $300, of which she also donated $100 of her winnings back to the Foundation. Thank you both for your generosity!
Thank you again to the Las Vegas Chapter and everyone who participated in the tournament.