Every year, the World Series of Poker is a series of poker tournaments held in Las Vegas. The series ends with the "Main Event": a $10K No-Limit Hold'em Championship full of bluffs, bad beats, and all-ins! Last year, the "Main Event" attracted nearly 6,500 entrants, and first place paid out $8.5M.

While attending the 2009 WSOP, Rafe Furst and Michael Karnjanaprakorn came up with a crazy idea. Michael will enter the 2010 WSOP Main Event and donate 100% of his possible winnings to charity.

While the money would be a great surprise for any charity, the real goal is to encourage other poker players to donate at least 1% of the winnings to charity too. (In 2009, the WSOP awarded out over $175M in tournament winnings.) Who wouldn't pledge at least 1% if there was someone else pledging 100%?

In the lead up to the event, Michael will be coached by professional poker players Rafe Furst, Annie Duke, and Ali Nejad, maximizing his chances for impact. But like anything else in the poker world, there's always a catch. The pro's challenged Michael to raise his $10K buy-in through Kickstarter to ensure that general awareness is raised about the project and charities. If you'd like for Michael to consider your charity, please send a public tweet to @thewsog with a link to your charity.

FAQ

1. Where do I send the money from my tournament?
You can directly donate the money to the charity by visiting their website. None of the money goes through WSOG.

2. Do I have to play in the World Series of Poker to donate?
No. You can pledge any percentage from any online or offline poker tournament.

3. How will you know if we don't donate?
We don't. It's all goodwill. We trust that you'll do the right thing : )