Texas Hold 'Em Benefit for Wounded Warriors

For so many combat-injured soldiers, the first footing back on the soil of their homeland isn't on their driveway or the threshold of their own home; it's on the linoleum of a corridor at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C.

Their path toward healing will be long — the average stay at Walter Reed is 386 days – and will present challenges for their often far-flung family members.

Tomorrow, the Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament, a fundraiser put together by members of the Scarsdale Police Department, hopes to make it a little easier to reunite families with their wounded warriors in D.C.

Details:

• Thursday, Jan. 28 from 6 p.m. onwards.
• Where: The Westchester Manor, 140 Saw Mill River Road, Hastings-on-Hudson
• Price: $90 for non-players (player registration deadline was Jan. 21). Price includes dinner and cocktails

Rehabilitation is not just weight on the shoulders of the fighter; it is also a tremendous burden on families, who are often stitching their lives back together as they try and spend as much time as possible with wounded heroes. 

Members of the Scarsdale Police Department have traveled to Walter Reed  to visit wounded soldiers and raise money for the privately funded Family Assistance Center since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been underway.

Scarsdale Police officers Michael Rossetti, Ronnie Arefieg and John York for an event to raise as much money as possible to support the cause are set.

The event is sponsored and hosted by the Scarsdale Police Department's Police Benevolent Association with the goal of raising as much money as possible for the Family Assistance Center.

The star of HBO's "Generation Kill" TV series, Chance Kelly, will be the guest speaker.  In preparing for his role as Lt. Col. Stephen "Godfather" Ferrando, Chance interacted with soldiers in Iraq who offered him a unique insight into what they deal with on a daily basis.

Scarsdale Police Sgt. Michael Rossetti, a personal friend of Kelly's, mentioned the event to him during the planning stages. Kelly volunteered to come out for the benefit.

"Right away I got a very positive response when I spoke to Chance," said Rosetti. "He is hoping to rally a few of the other actors to attend the event as well," he said.

Up to 100 players can join in for the poker game but there is no limit on non-players who may attend for dinner and cocktails. The cost for the tournament, dinner, drinks, cigars and entertainment is $200.

Tickets for the dinner are $90 each.

The event will feature a selection of gourmet foods from around the world, an open bar, professional cigar rolling, live music and a rare collectable sports memorabilia auction. 

Among other things a 50" LG plasma HDTV and Blu-ray player will be raffled off. 
Prizes will be awarded to the top four contestants in the Poker game. The 1st place winner will receive $5000, 2nd place will receive $2,500, 3rd place will receive $1,500 and 4th place will receive $1,000.

Reservations and payments must be made ASAP. RSVP to either Sgt. Mike Rossetti, spdsgt110@verizon.net, Sgt. Jon York, jyork@scarsdale.com, or Officer Ronnie Arefieg rjarefieg@aol.com.