Both Absolute Poker and PokerStars have announced they will be hosting online poker charity tournaments to raise money for the American Red Cross in their effort to bring relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
All the monies collected from the charity tournaments will be matched 100% by the poker rooms and donated directly to the American Red Cross. The Absolute Poker tournament is for charity only, no prizes will be awarded. The PokerStars tournament reserves one dollar cent of each buy in for the prize pool, and you can also win an autographed copy of one of Wil Wheaton's books, the actor and writer who initiated the idea for the PokerStars charity tournament.
Hurricane Katrina is expected to become the worst natural disaster ever to have hit the U.S., both in terms of human loss and economic impact. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin reported to the Associated Press this Wednesday that the number of casualties was "Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands." The hurricane severely impacted oil supplies, causing the oil and gasoline price to rise. The total economic loss will run into tens of billions of dollars, with an estimated $25 billion covered by insurance.
More information about the upcoming charity tournaments can be found on PokerStars' official blog (authored by Brad "Otis" Willis) and on Absolute Poker's Katrina relief page.
Update: BoDog Poker has joined the Katrina relief efforts and will be hosting a couple of charity tournaments early September. Full Tilt Poker will be hosting a charity event September 2nd, 9:15PM (EST).