BY TOM SOMACH

Franklin Becker, executive chef at the Brasserie restaurant in New York, was the winner of the Foxwoods Celebrity Chef Charity Poker Tournament, held recently at the Foxwoods Indian casino in Connecticut.

The charity tourney was part of the second annual Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival.

Becker’s first-place winnings of $15,000 are to be donated to Autism Speaks, a charity dedicated to funding research to cure autism.

Ming Tsai, chef and co-owner of the Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, Mass., outside Boston, came in second place in the charity tournament.

His second-place earnings of $10,000 are to go to the Cam Neely Foundation in Boston.

David Rabin, owner of Lotus, in New York, came in third and will split a donation of $5,000 to two New York charities.

Other celeb chefs who competed in the tourney were David Burke of Donattella in New York and Michael Schlow of Radius in Boston.

Becker credited his win to getting a straight flush early in the competition and riding the momentum of that big hand to victory.

“I knew I was in good shape when I was dealt that straight flush,” said Becker. “I will have to come back and defend my title as the reigning champ next year!”

According to event organizers, the Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival drew over 5,000 attendees.

The attendees enjoyed three days of festivities, including celebrity chef demonstrations and book signings, wine and spirits seminars, tastings and dinners and the charity poker tournament.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)