Check Out The Charity Poker & Casino Night at TrebleMakers Tomorrow!

One day after your Nโ€™Awlins feast, even though thereโ€™s a world of online gambling sites, if you still enjoy playing poker against other real men and women in a fun setting โ€” with a chance to win great prizes while helping a wonderful cause โ€” you should consider joining the Neighborhood News crew and North Tampa Bay Chamber members at Shark AI Solutionsโ€™ (formerly Shark Branding Solutions) โ€œAces & AIโ€ Charity Poker & Casino Night. 

This fun and exciting event will be held on Monday, August 24, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., at TrebleMakers Sports Bar & Dueling Pianos (6034 Wesley Grove Blvd., The Grove at Wesley Chapel). It will be an unforgettable evening of blackjack, poker, roulette & craps and giving back to another outstanding local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization โ€” the Robert Noa Foundation. 

According to RobertNoaFoundation.com, this motocross-focused charity โ€œPays it Forward to the Next Generationโ€ of riders: 

โ€œWe believe the lessons learned at the track carry far beyond the finish line. Robertโ€™s life embodied dedication, humility and the pure joy of riding โ€” and his spirit continues to inspire everyone who throws a leg over a bike. 

โ€œOur mission is to honor Robertโ€™s legacy through scholarships, mentorship and community programs. Weโ€™re not just supporting young athletes, weโ€™re fostering a culture of perseverance, sportsmanship and heart.โ€ 

Your $40 admission price (plus $4.52 processing fee) includes: a delicious TrebleMakers dinner buffet, $25 in play chips (with opportunities to re-buy), professional casino tables with experienced dealers & opportunities to both network with local businesses and win some great prizes! 

Although there will not be any cash won, everyone who buys chips at the event will have a chance to win the following great prizes:

  • One-night stay in a King Suite at Saddlebrook Resort plus 18 holes of golf for two
  • Motocross track experiences at Dade City Motocross, including professional training, dirt bike rental, boots and helmet
  • Wakeboarding adventures
  • Ice skating and hockey experiences
  • PopStroke
  • Main Event games and entertainment
  • Comedy club tickets
  • Multiple hotel stays, including stays from Hampton Inn and Hyatt
  • Tickets to an upcoming Tampa Bay Lightning game
  • Additional local experiences and prizes

There also will be pro motocross riders and beautiful motocross bikes on display for photo opportunities. 

And, hereโ€™s more exciting news, the new โ€œChapel After Darkโ€ Podcast also will be filming its first-ever episode during the event! 

Pre-registration is required. For more info or to purchase tickets, see the ad above or visit Eventbrite.com/e/aces-ai-charity-poker-and-casino-night-tickets-1996503011251. โ€” GN 

Love Cajun Cooking? Want To Help A Great Cause? Attend ‘A Taste of N’Awlins’ Today!”

(Above) Dr./Chef Elliot Cazes will again be in the kitchen cooking up an amazing New Orleans-style feast at the โ€œA Taste of Nโ€™Awlinsโ€ fund raiser to benefit Faces of Courage on Sunday, August 23, at the Arbor Green clubhouse.

Speaking of great chefs, while my longtime friend Elliot Cazes, M.D., may not be a chef in a restaurant (at least not yet), he certainly could be โ€” at least in one editorโ€™s humble opinion. 

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, Elliot (a noted local OB/GYN doctor and lecturer) and I hosted a benefit to raise money to send to the victims of that brutal Category 3 (by the time it hit Louisiana) storm. 

I had so much fun watching Elliot create his famous chicken & andouille sausage gumbo and other Nโ€™Awlins cuisine items that I told him then, โ€œYou know you could do this for a living.โ€ 

Fast forward 21 years. โ€œChef Elliotโ€ is still working as a doctor, but he and his wife Pam also have been helping a wonderful organization called the โ€œFaces of Courage Foundation,โ€ a New Tampa-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting cancer patients and survivors. 

According to FacesofCourage.org, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by New Tampa resident Peggie D. Sherry in Jan. 2004, โ€œprovides day outings, educational workshops and medically supervised overnight camps for women, children and families touched by all types of cancer and blood disorders โ€” all at no cost.โ€ The organizationโ€™s motto is โ€œNo one faces cancer alone.โ€ย 

Chef Elliot shares a laugh with student volunteer Caroline Perry at a previous event.

This yearโ€™s Womenโ€™s Cancer Camp, a weekend retreat sponsored by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinikโ€™s Vinik Family Foundation, will be held Sept. 18-20, at Rotaryโ€™s Camp Florida in Brandon. But, Elliot, who has been cooking for this incredible organizationโ€™s camps for 20 years, says that, following the passing of another major sponsor, more money is needed for this yearโ€™s camps. 

To that end, he and Pam are hosting โ€œA Taste of Nโ€™Awlinsโ€ dining event on Sunday, August 23, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., at the Arbor Greene Community Center (18000 Arbor Greene Dr.). 

โ€œWeโ€™ll be serving my chicken and andouille gumbo (yum!), red beans & rice (double yum!) and assorted po-boy sandwiches (triple yum!),โ€ Elliot says. โ€œYou can eat it there in the clubhouse or take it to go.โ€ 

Please note that, the food will be cash-only โ€” for only $20 per meal โ€” although additional donations will be accepted in cash or by check. โ€œItโ€™ll be good food for a great cause and a great community,โ€ Elliot says. โ€œWe hope to see you there on the 23rd!โ€ 

For more info, visit FacesofCourage.org or see the ad below, but reservations are notย necessary or being accepted for this event. Everyone is invited โ€” you do not have to be an Arbor Greene resident to attend!ย