On May 4 at high noon, the Third Annual Cavaliers Against Cancer Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament will be held at John Paul Jones Arena to benefit the Rebecca Clary Harris, M.D. Memorial Fellowship at the University of Virginia Cancer Center. Proceeds will help U.Va. research faster ways to diagnose cancer and provide new, personalized treatments for the disease with less adverse side effects. 

The event will feature three simultaneous poker tournaments at three levels of play: a beginner’s tournament, main tournament and high-stakes tournament, with entry ticket prices of $50, $60 and $150, respectively, said event organizer and U.Va. alumnus Shawn Brydge, co-founder of Cavaliers Against Cancer.

More than $9,000 in prizes, including a three-night stay in Orlando at a Bluegreen Resort, four lift tickets to Massanutten Resort and autographed items from the U.Va. football, baseball and basketball programs, will go to the top three finishers of the beginner’s tournament and the top nine finishers of the main and high-stakes tournaments.

All participants will have a chance to win door prizes awarded periodically throughout the afternoon.

To learn more and to register for the tournament, click here. The registration deadline is Tuesday.

Each year, the event has substantially ramped up its impact, Brydge said. In its first year, the tournament raised $3,659 with 55 players; last year, 124 players raised $12,751. This year’s goal is $20,000.

The Rebecca Clary Harris, M.D. Memorial Fellowship celebrates the life of a talented physician and researcher who excelled in the study and treatment of melanoma, said event organizer Jason Chestnutt, U.Va’s associate director of gift planning and service chair for the UVaClub of Charlottesville.

The fund provides clinical and translational research fellowships to graduate students or fellows in the Human Immune Therapy Center at the U.Va. Cancer Center. The funded research has implications for treatment of melanoma, colon, ovarian, breast and other cancers.