Several professional poker players have helped in Texas rescue efforts in the wake of the Hurricane Harvey devastation. Ray Henson, Gavin Smith, Chance Kornuth, Doc Sands, and Kevin Hart are notable poker ambassadors who have helped Houston-area refugees in the storm’s wake.
Roy Henson traveled the flooded areas of the Texas coast to give residents a lift out of dangerous locations, while ferrying supplies to those who remained stranded. Henson also posted a brief video of his rescue attempts to Facebook, in an effort to show the destruction.
Henson, who has 109 career cashes and is 311th on the all-time United States player list in winnings (and 15th on the Texas list), said he was unable to convince many of the residents to leave the danger area. The resident of Spring, Texas — a city about 25 miles north of Houston — continues his rescue efforts.
Roy Henson Helps Hurricane Victims
The notable poker pro, who cashed in 12 events at the recent 2017 World Series of Poker, made an appeal to people via social media to help out residents. Henson said, “Go clean out your closet, [get] any extra blankets, food, anything to help these people that literally have nothing.”
Trying to raise awareness of the plight of Hurricane Harvey victims, Roy Henson posted, “Anything helps guys. You can find somewhere near you to donate and if you can’t get out lmk (let me know) and if I can get to you I will. There are people in shelters with nothing but the wet shirt on their backs. Let’s get these people dry and fed.”
Henson’s hard work inspired other poker players to get involved in the relief efforts. Gavin Smith, who spends time in Texas, converted his garage into a donation drop-off center. Smith also built a team of volunteers to distribute the donations to hurricane survivors.
Poker Players Make Contributions
Soon, a wave of poker professionals were making contributions. David “Doc” Sands and his wife, Erica, volunteered the use of their Las Vegas condominium to a Harvey survivors. The Sands Family even offered airline tickets to transport the family to Las Vegas.
Chance Kornuth pledged 5% of his winnings from this weekend’s World Championship of Online Poker to relief organizations. Kornuth won a 2010 WSOP bracelet and seems poised to have poker winnings this weekend.
Rungood Sales Code: “Houston”
Meanwhile, the poker clothing company Rungood offered 100% of its sales on t-shirts and other products to provide relief. If customers buying Rungood items on the online site need to use the coupon code “Houston”, 100% of their purchase goes to relief. The offer is good through Tuesday.
Kevin Hart’s Red Cross Donations
Kevin Hart, the comedian and actor who is now a poker ambassador for PokerStars, pledged $50,000 to the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts. Hart also encouraged his 34,000,000 Twitter followers and 54,000,000 Instagram followers to donate their time or money.
Roy Henson on Harvey Relief Efforts
After a day of relief work in the water-logged streets of Texas, Roy Henson posted inspiring comments to his Facebook page. Henson wrote, “Today was a day I’ll never forget. Being out with other volunteers and seeing people risking their lives and trying to save people they have never met before was heart melting.”
“Nobody cared what race, religion, who you voted for or who your fav football team is, everyone just came together and loved one another.”
Days after Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coastline, the relief efforts continue. Many residents have been stranded in the area for the better part of a week now. At this point, survivors are exhausted and running out of supplies. Because the hurricane happened days ago, no one should assume that relief work cannot help the survivors. With an even larger Hurricane Irma on the way to the US coastline, it is a critical time when people’s relief work in time or donations can be the difference in life or death.
