Aces UP! Charity Poker Event to Support Urban Prep Academies

Going ALL-IN for education!

Eight years ago, Alexi Giannoulias, Richard Roeper, Chris Zorich and I got the idea to bring a few people together to play a little poker and in the process support Urban Prep Academies.  That gathering of friends has grown over the past eight years into Aces UP!—one of Chicago’s biggest (and if I do say so myself, BEST) charity poker events.

Every year, hundreds of players and spectators—including Chicago’s media, entertainment, sports, corporate and civic stars—attend Aces UP! to enjoy fast-paced poker and support Urban Prep Academies. Aces UP! is a blast; there’s great food, great company, a prize pool valued at over $10,000 and of course a chance to support a great cause. Don’t believe me?  Just take a look at the pictures and summaries from previous years:  https://www.facebook.com/acesuptourney.

While Aces UP! is quite literally all fun and games, it gives the friends of Urban Prep Academies, a chance to support the very important work we are doing right here in the City of Chicago. Funds raised at Aces UP! support Urban Prep Academies, a nonprofit organization that operates the country’s first network of charter public schools for boys. Our three schools, located in the Englewood, Bronzeville, and Near West side communities, have been recognized internationally for achieving a 100% college acceptance rate for all of our graduates. We don’t just get our kids to college, we also work to get them THROUGH college, as detailed in a recent Chicago Tribune cover story featuring our alumni (to read, click here)

Aces UP! 2014 will take place on Thursday, November 20, 2014 at The Chicago Sports Museum on the 7^th floor of Water Tower Place (835 N Michigan Ave.) from 5:00pm to 11:00pm. To register for the event and for more information, please visit www.acesuptourney.com. I hope you will join me in going ALL-IN for education at Aces UP!