Public Relations & Poker – How a Full House On the River Beat My Flush and Crushed My Dreams for 15 Seconds of Fame
Last night I played in a charity poker tournament sponsored by PR Newswire and organized by PRSA Boston.
The event was fun and I met lots of great PR folks in the Boston area. Last year’s event helped raise enough money to allow PRSA Boston to raise its scholarship grant from $1,000 to $2,000.
It was also fun to watch the side action based on a friendly rivalry between Schwartz Communications and Racepoint Group (both PR firms located in Waltham, MA).
I fancied myself winning in the tournament actually as I dabble quite a lot in playing poker online. I don’t consider myself to be a pro of any sorts, but I do play poker online over the weekends and have won a few tournaments.
But, the fun and games ended for me when I placed 10th (out of 38 players), and lost my chance to win the grand prize – a 15-second spot on a digital billboard in Times Square! How cool would it have been to have my winning smile flashed across Times Square, announcing my superior PR poker performance? I’m sure I could have figured out how to get some PR mileage out of that.
My dreams of fame were crushed when Tim Whitman from Schwartz Communications pulled a full house on the river against my flush. I hear that Tim finished 3rd last night.
There’s always next year…