A charity poker tournament to benefit cancer victims will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on Friday, December 12, 2008.

The event, officially dubbed the Poker Jingle at the Hard Rock Lounge, is a $200 buy-in, no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament that is scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m., organizers said.

All proceeds from the tourney will go the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Southern Nevada, a cancer charity, organizers said.

The tournament, which is open to the public, will be preceded by a cocktail party and silent auction at 2 p.m., they said.

Among the celebrities scheduled to participate in the tourney are poker pros Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth Jr., Jamie Gold, Erick Lindgren, Beth Shak, Tiffany Michelle, Jennifer Harman, Todd “Son of Doyle” Brunson, Brad Booth, Andy Bloch, Tom McEvoy, Barry Greenstein, J.J. Liu, Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, Layne Flack, Brandon Cantu, Jeff Madsen, Lee Watkinson, Roy Winston, Lee Markholt, James van Alstyne, Marco Traniello, Maria Ho, Chad Brown and Mark Newhouse, organizers said.

This is the first year for the event, organizers said. If it is successful, it will become an annual affair, they said.

For more information about the charity poker tournament, call the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino toll-free at 1-800-HRD-ROCK, which is 1-800-473-7625.

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