Nautica Charity Poker Festivals are over; Attendance drops from Cleveland casino, company says

CLEVELAND - The Nautica Charity Poker Festivals, which has raised millions of dollars for local charities, have come to an end.

The number of people attending the festivals has dropped more than 80 percent since the opening of the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland on May 14, Nautica said in a news release on Friday.

"We realized that the charity poker festivals would not be able to compete with the opening of the Horseshoe Casino. That's why we, and dozens of Northeast Ohio charities lobbied the Ohio legislature requesting that the Nautica charities be allowed to compete with paid dealers. Unfortunately our efforts were not successful," said Dave Grunenwald, Vice President of Development/Leasing for Jacobs Investments, which owns the Nautica Entertainment Complex.

The Nautica Charity Poker Festivals started in 2005 and since then, raised more than $10 million for organizations like the Special Olympics and the Northeast Ohio Breast Cancer Coalition. In 2011, the festivals moved to the Apartments at Nautica building and raised nearly $3 million for 87 charities.

"It has been a great run for charities, Texas Hold 'Em players, and the thousands of volunteers that made the Nautica Charity Poker Festivals a success over the past 8 years," said Pat McKinley, Executive Vice President of Jacobs Investments, Inc.

Charities would provide volunteers for dealers, and in return college the proceeds from hourly seat fees and concessions.