Tue, 19 Oct 2004, 11:03 AM NHRA Teams with PBR for Celebrity Blackjack Tournament

Courtesy of NHRA Communications

GLENDORA, Calif. -- The NHRA and the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR), will present the 2004 PBR Celebrity Blackjack Tournament with all the proceeds to be donated to the Resistol Relief Fund.

The all-star tournament will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 5:30 p.m. (PT) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, with four of the NHRA's top nitro drivers and 45 of the leading PBR bull riders participating in the ninth annual event, which has raised more than $400,000 for the RRF since its inception.

The tournament will be held in conjunction with the fourth annual ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, Oct. 28-31, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the PBR's season-ending Built Ford Tough World Finals, Oct. 22-31.

Top Fuel standouts Brandon Bernstein and Cory McClenathan, along with Snake Racing Funny Car pilots Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr., will try their luck at one of the 36 blackjack tables and also will be available to sign autographs for those in attendance. The event is open to the public and registration for the tournament will be from 3-5 p.m. (PT), on Oct. 27, for a cost of $200 per entrant with all proceeds going to the Resistol Relief Fund, a special fund created by Resistol Hats and the PBR to aid injured cowboys and their families.

The charity tournament has three separate rounds of competition, with each of the 36 tables playing a pre-determined number of hands, with one winner per table being crowned. The 36 'table-winners' will then advance to the semifinals and be divided up among six tables. The semifinal winners at each of the six tables then move on to the final round. Various prizes will be awarded to the winners at the tournament and traditional 'Las Vegas blackjack rules' apply. If a celebrity from one of the initial 36 tables is a winner at the tournament, each of the players who were sitting at the table with the winning celebrity in the first round also win prizes.

The PBR's founding members and governing board of directors is comprised of celebrated bull riders of the past and present who have developed bull riding into a stand alone sport which is experiencing unprecedented growth in global popularity. The PBR is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., and has over 600 athletes competing in more than 100 PBR sanctioned competitions.