School Hold Em for Hunger Charity Poker Tournament Cancelled

March 25 - In a frustrating turn of events, the annual 'Hold 'em for Hunger' poker tournament organized every year by the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, has had to be suddenly cancelled after individuals complained against the gambling element of the event.

Lawyers for the school followed up on these complaints and found that the tournament goes against the gambling rules of the State of Carolina and advised the organizers to cancel the event that was scheduled to begin on April 20th.

The tournament organizer, Graham Boone, said in a statement: "The school was very remorseful about having to cancel the event. They didn't want us to shut down but we respect their decision and want the university to do things as legal as possible. The school was not the bad guy".

The 'Hold 'em for Hunger' tournament donates thousands of dollars each year directly to Nourish International, which bridges the gap between student bodies and needy communities throughout the world. A record number of students were expected to take part in this year's tournament, with organizers predicting that last year's total of 500 students who took part was set to double. The cancellation of this year's event thus proved a major blow to Nourish International who depends solely on charitable donations to fill its coffers.

Boone was adamant that this was simply a minor setback in the successful 'Hold 'em for Hunger' tradition at UNC. "We aren't giving up," he said. "We will be filing for a government pardon next year for a charitable exception. The timing is too late now to do so. Had we been told in November, we would have had enough time to get a pardon approved."

Anybody wishing to make donations to Nourish International to make up for the losses, can do so by going to www.nourishinternational.org