Poker Pro Jamie Gold hosts star-studded 9th Annual Variety The Children’s Charity of Southern California Charity Poker & Casino Night
Paramount Studios was the location where 2006 WSOP champion and poker philanthropist Jamie Gold hosted the 9th Annual Variety Charity Poker & Casino Night to benefit Variety The Children’s Charity of Southern California.
Over 600 celebrities and entertainment executives played poker under the stars on the iconic Paramount Studios lot.
Many great stars arrived to support a great cause. Nikki Bella, Artem Chigvintsev, Austin Mahone, Victoria Arlen, Gilles Marini, Kevin McHale, Chord Overstreet, Sasha Pieterse and more cheered as Variety Kids received their mobility bikes, thanks to The Children’s Charity of Southern California, at Paramount Studios.
Bruce Buffer (the voice of the UFC), kicked off the poker tournament with his signature catchphrase “It’s Time†and event host Jamie Gold invited guests to go All In for Variety’s Kids. Partygoers also enjoyed playing blackjack, roulette and craps.
Guests enjoyed a gourmet dinner and a vintage treats bar featuring Twinkies, Cracker Jack and more. Variety SoCal supporters enjoyed the My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream Mochi Bar™ with their delicious S’mores, Green Tea, Strawberry and Chocolate mocha ice cream and yummy champagne and citrus flavored cotton candy from Love Swirls.
Partygoers posed for Casino Royale themed pictures in the Polite In Public photo booth and generously supported Variety The Children’s Charity of Southern California during the silent auction and raffle.
Event Chair Patricia Gonzalez (SVP, In-Theatre Marketing at Paramount Pictures) and Executive Director of Variety The Children’s Charity of Southern California, Elizabeth O’Neil, welcomed guests and shared Variety’s mission to serve children in need in our community.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of mobility bikes to six Variety Kids who are now able to enjoy the childhood rite of passage of riding a bicycle.
Austin Mahone showed the Variety Kids their cool news rides that were made especially for them.
Guests cheered as Zachary (2 years old), Jesse (3 years old), Andrea (3 years old), Emily (11 years old), Adriel (11 years old) and Jesse (16 years old) rode down the red carpet on their cool new bikes.
Hollywood’s brightest stars from television, film, music and sports, including Austin Mahone, Kevin McHale, Chord Overstreet, Alan Bersten, Artem Chigvinstev, Nikki Bella, Sasha Pieterse, Victoria Arlen, Corey Feldman, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, Edwin Hodge, Camryn Manheim, Gilles Marini, Nash Overstreet, Caelynn Miller-Keyes, Hayley Orrantia, Nick Peine,
Hudson Thames, Adrienne Frantz, Scott Bailey, Jake T. Austin, Perez Hilton, Jovan Armand, Jason Collins, Jennifer Tilly, Maria Ho, Sohvi Rodriguez, David Sutcliffe, Clinton Sparks, Chris Warren, Layla Warren, Bai Ling, Tito Ortiz and more, joined writers, directors, producers, network and studio executives to show their love and support for Variety Kids, while playing a friendly little game of poker!
  More about Variety– The Children’s Charity of Southern Calfornia
“It was an honor to host the Variety Charity Poker & Casino Night again this year. We are so grateful to all of our celebrity friends who came out to support this worthy cause and who helped us raised critical funds to provide programs and services to children in need in our community. It was incredible to see the huge smiles on the Variety Kids’ faces as they cruised the Paramount lot on their mobility bikes. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone back at Paramount Studios next Summer for our 10th Annual event.,†said host Jamie Gold.   Â
Great History
Long considered “The Heart of Show Business,” Variety found its roots in the entertainment industry when on Christmas Eve in 1928; a baby girl was found abandoned on the seat of a movie theatre in Pittsburgh. The “Variety Club,” a newly formed social organization founded by 11 men affiliated with the entertainment industry, agreed to financially underwrite the child’s support and education.
Since that time, Variety has grown to an international charity with 45 chapters in 14 countries, raising more than $2.9 billion for children around the world. One of the leading chapters around the globe, Variety – The Children’s Charity of Southern California, was founded in 1941 to provide life-saving and life-enriching assistance to children with special needs in Southern California.
Focused on education, health care and mobility, Variety SoCal is leading the way to help children with cerebral palsy and other conditions live active and mobile lives, enabling them to enjoy the freedom and staples of childhood that kids with disabilities desperately want to experience. Variety sends thousands of children with life threatening illnesses to camp, continues to support the Variety Boys & Girls Club in Boyle Heights, and provides scholarships to at-risk teens enabling them to fulfill their dreams of attending college.
*Featured image above article is Artem Chigvintsev, Nikki Bella and Victoria Arlen enjoying a round of blackjack.
Photography by Ryan Miller.
