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Todd Lewis (left) and Jeff Wells mull their hands during a game of Texas Hold’em at Woofs, which offers poker on Mondays. (Photo by Matt Hennie)
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FRIDAY, NOV. 16
Atlanta Team Tennis Association, Friday Night Drills, Glenlake Tennis Center. www.atta.org
Hotlanta Volleyball League, Recreational League Play, Agnes Scott College. www.hotlantavolleyball.org
SATURDAY, NOV. 17
Atlanta Team Tennis Association, Open Play Doubles, Glenlake Tennis Center. www.atta.org
Atlanta Bucks Rugby’s Project Dragway, the Wild Mustang. www.atlantabucksrugby.org
Atlanta Bucks Rugby Bar Night, Atlanta Eagle. www.atlantabucksrugby.org
SUNDAY, NOV. 18
Atlanta Team Tennis Association, Sunday Morning Drills, Glenlake Tennis Center. www.atta.org
TUESDAY, NOV. 20
Hotlanta Volleyball League, Intermediate and Advance League Play, Agnes Scott College. www.hotlantavolleyball.org
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HOME > COMMUNITY > SPORTS
By: MATT HENNIE
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ATLANTA PRIDE wants your best poker face. If you’re a player — poker, that is — the Atlanta Pride Committee is already working toward the 2008 festival with a new offering. The Atlanta Pride Poker Tournament kicked off in early November at Stage Door in Tucker, part of a months-long effort to crown a gay Texas Hold’em champion while raising funds for the non-profit organization.
Held monthly on the first Saturday, the poker series culminates in June with a tournament to name a champ. Up to 40 participants donate $10 for a shot at winning the monthly event, earning credits toward the June finale.
“The opportunity to reach out to people outside the perimeter was really the draw for us,” said Donna Narducci, Pride’s executive director. “We do so many events in Midtown. This was an opportunity for us to reach folks outside the gayborhood.”
Narducci said she expects to raise about $5,000 through the poker series, but that the events also allow Pride organizers to remain visible year-round, recruit volunteers and solicit donors.
“Financially, it is successful for us without requiring lots of Pride resources," she said. "We show up, provide some prizes, people have a good time and it makes us a little bit of money.”
For card sharks who want more, Stage Door also offers Texas Hold’em on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
JEFF WELLS MAKES the short drive from his Virginia-Highland home to Woofs nearly every Monday to play Texas Hold’em at the gay sports bar, which launched the theme night about two years ago. The Hearts and Spades player was looking to expand his card gaming.
“I personally enjoy playing cards,” Wells said during a break in the play on a recent Monday. “I enjoy meeting new people as much as the old ones.”
The Monday games are played on five tables tucked into the pool area of Woofs. Play starts about 8 p.m. and runs until after 10 p.m. Players score wins and gift certificates for the bar, as well as points that accrue for a citywide tournament by Full House Hold’em, which operates the poker nights at Woofs.
“This is a seriously under-tapped market,” said Matthew Pierce, Full House’s tournament director at the bar. “There will always be a part of the gay and lesbian community that doesn’t want to deal with the hassle of going to a straight bar to play.”
Gary Sisney, a Woofs’ co-owner, said introducing poker helped boost the crowds on a historically slow night of the week for the bar. Up to 48 people can play at one time.
“Everyone was watching it on TV, but there were no gay outlets to play it,” Sisney said
Atlanta Pride Poker Tournament
Monthly on first Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
Texas Hold’em
Tuesdays and Fridays, 8 p.m.; Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
The Stage Door
4431 Hugh Howell Road
770-414-9292
www.thestagedoor.biz
Texas Hold’em
Mondays, 8 p.m.
Woofs Atlanta
2425 Piedmont Road
404-869-9422
www.woofsatlanta.com
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