KISS rocker Gene Simmons was recently honored during the Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation’s (LAPMF) “Heroes for Heroes” celebrity poker tournament for support he has given to the Charity poker tourney honoring rock legend Gene Simmons raises $300,000 for the LAPDcommunity. The event featured the poker tournament, casino games, a meet-and-greet with celebrities, a live auction and lots of food and drink. It was the perfect occasion to raise funds for a worthy cause and, by the time the festivities ended, $300,000 had been raised for the LAPMF.
In addition to being able to mix it up with Simmons, there was a long list of stars from a number of industries on hand. Chris Copeland and Jerry West of the National Basketball Association were on hand and Lethal Weapon’s Andrew Creer, Joanna Krupa and Jonathan Sadowski made an appearance, as did “Amityville: The Awakening” producer, Randall Emmett. From the poker world, John Cynn, winner of the 2018 WSOP Main Event, Jamie Gold and Traci Szymanski all participated in the tournament.
Up for grabs at the tournament were prizes such as a seat at the 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, training sessions with Daniel Negreanu, dinner with baseball legend Tommy Lasorda and many more. In the end, Emmett took the top prize and chose to donate it to a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) police officer.
The auction included a number of popular items. Randall Emmett ultimately won an Andy Warhol original and Tito Ortiz took home a LA Rams helmet that was signed by Brandin Cooks, Todd Gurley, Jared Goff and Robert Woods. Simmons got in on the auction action, as well, donating $100,000 on his own autographed painting and challenging other bidders to put up $10,000 each for the opportunity to go for a spin in the KISS jet, as well as receive a backstage pass for the final KISS Tour.
This was the fourth installment of the charity event and it continues to grow in popularity. It was held at the Avalon Hollywood, its normal venue, and is designed to support the families of LAPD officers who have died or been injured in the line of duty. Simmons was singled out for his “above and beyond participation as one of the top celebrity ambassadors at the Cantor Fitzgerald & BGC Partners’ annual Charity Days commemorating the 658 friends, colleagues and Eurobroker employees tragically lost on September 11, 2001.”
This article originally Calvin Ayre.