Ante Up For Africa Europe

Needed a break from the blog for SCOOP at PokerStars and there will be some drivel tomorrow about the trip and screaming near-three year olds can tank a good mood faster then you can muck online.

For now here's a press release for a great cause, Ante Up For Africa has been at the WSOP for a few years and now will highlight the Grand Finale week for the EPT. Read on below:

POKERSTARS TO HOST THE FIRST EVER ANTE UP FOR AFRICA EUROPEAN CHARITY POKER TOURNAMENT

LONDON, UK - APRIL 14, 2009 - PokerStars, the world's largest online pokersite is pleased to announce a special star-studded addition to its EuropeanPoker Tour (EPT) Grand Final week with the first ever Ante Up For Africa

Europe Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament. The event is aimed at raising money within the poker community for the current humanitarian mission in crisis torn Darfur.

The event will take place on April 27, 2009 at 6pm, a day before thePokerStars EPT Season Five Grand Final Main Event. A field of A-list celebrities and poker pros including Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu,Joe Hachem and Vanessa Rousso will compete in the €4,000 buy in no-limit Texas hold'em tournament held in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

All of the prize money from the PokerStars Ante Up For Africa Europe tournament will be donated to Ante Up For Africa to help fund the work of charities that provide aid and assistance to the survivors of the situation in Darfur, Sudan, and support activism dedicated to resolving the crisis.

PokerStars will be awarding the winner of the tournament with a special prize package to their flagship EPT event in the Bahamas in January 2010.

Ante Up For Africa has run two previous charity tournaments during the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas over the last two summers - the events have attracted numerous players including Hollywood stars Ben Affleck, AdamSandler, Montel Williams, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Jason Alexander, CharlesBarkley, Ray Romano, Shannon Elizabeth and top professional poker players such as Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem, Daniel Negreanu and BarryGreenstein and to date Ante Up For Africa has raised closed $2 million forthe cause.

While the situation in Darfur has shown signs of improvement the area remains perilous. A campaign of ethnic cleansing by Government forces in Sudan over severalyears has left more than 300,000 dead and almost three million displaced,living in squalid conditions in refugee camps along the Chad/Sudan border.

Peacekeeping forces are gradually being deployed but not without difficulty,being short of vital helicopters and other supplies to make helping those inneed possible. The International Criminal Court has indicted top Sudanese officials, with more expected as world pressure mounts. Companies are pulling out of business with Sudan amounting to tens of millions of divestiture, and 22 U.S. states have passed laws forbidding pension funds from investing in companies doing business in the country. But the fragile conditions faced by civilians remain.

The hope of PokerStars and Ante Up for Africa is that Ante Up for Africa Europe and the third annual Ante Up for Africa tournament this summer in LasVegas will bring more attention to the crisis and create further support for peacekeepers and aid workers in the region.

Photo call at 5pm, 27th April, Sporting Casino, Avenue Princesse Grace,Monte Carlo