Gator Nation Embraces Poker

Despite recent government regulations of gambling online (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) in the United States which has directly affected the poker fan population. The popularity of poker in Florida area is at an all time high and that does not fall short with the Gator Nation. Students at the University of Florida have found ways to still get their poker fix in a legal and philanthropist type way.

Last year students organized several events such as, the Student Global AIDS Campaign Poker Tournament and the second annual AMA poker fundraiser. The effort continued this year as the University of Florida sorority Pi Delta Psi put together the 'Poker with a Purpose' tournament on August 26th. The donations for the tournament went towards the construction of an Asian-American Institute in Gainesville.

If one is looking to find some poker action off campus look no further than the Gainesville community. Throughout the year poker tournaments like ‘Poker for Pets’ take place to raise funds to benefit non profit organizations within the community and even nation wide.

For a more competitive environment, there are many poker rooms in the area in addition to Florida’s 137 casinos. One such player who enjoys competitive poker play is University of Florida’s own Jonathan Westra an online poker professional. Just last year Westra made a name for himself on the WSOP circuit by taking 26th, 25th, 9th, and 4th at four different events. Like Westra has made is mark on the poker world, Florida students and residents alike continue to support not only the game of poker but also the charities they support.

Please take a look at this video pretaining to the recent Government restrictions on Online Poker
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=def90a9b-0599-453e-a8bf-d3c730949c09&f=00&fg=copy