The Eighth Annual New York City Poker Tournament to benefit GIST research, held on September 22nd at the Midtown Loft and hosted by Board President Jerry Cudzil, was once again a tremendous success thanks to all of our supporters who came out to play for a cure.
Jerry first began hosting the event in 2004, when his father-in-law and friend, Bill Roth, was battling GIST. Sadly, Bill lost his battle with GIST in 2008, but Jerry continues the fight and carries on Bill’s legacy – to find a cure.

“Each year, I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of support that LRG receives from our poker players. But this year, even in this economy, they outdid themselves There may be only one first place winner in the tournament, but each of them contributed to breaking our record by raising over $110,000 to fund research to cure this terrible disease!”

Over 175 players and spectators, another record number, came out this year for an exciting evening of competition in support of a great cause. But only three players remained at the final table when midnight came.

We know our first place winner, Patrick Moore, will make us proud when he competes in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada this summer. Charles Sorrentino was a formidable opponent and earned a respectable second place title while Jerry’s brother, Mike, made the Cudzil family proud in earning third place. Congratulations to this year’s winners!

The LRG extends a special thank you to our tournament sponsors. Our Diamond Sponsor, Pfizer, donated $10,000 toward a cure, while Clubs Sponsor, the Phoenix Foundation, donated $5,000 on behalf of Phoenix Partners Group and Hearts Sponsor, Investors Bank, contributed $1,000.

In addition, we thank beverage sponsor, Robert Spellman and Kim Tallau of Innovative Images who annually donates her time and talent as our professional photographer. As always, a thank you must go to Long Island Poker & Casino for their help year after year.
Once again, our players went all-in for a cure!