Last Thursday November 9, more than 300 people gathered at SPIN New York to invest in mentorship and spend a night playing poker at our 14th annual Raising the Ante charity poker tournament. The tournament was swift and exciting, bringing out the best competitive spirit of players, donors, supporters, and sponsors. We raised a record $515,000 including sponsorships, donations, rebuys, and silent auction bidding for the tournament. The funds raised fuel our innovative programs for adult jobseekers and support our mission to advance economic equity by connecting underrepresented talent to mentorship and career opportunities. Thank you to everyone who came, played, donated, bid on the silent auction, and sponsored this year’s tournament.

Congratulations to Ronald Balfour, our Grand Prize winner! Ronald won a trip to the World Poker Tour Championship in Las Vegas, NV next month by playing their hand adeptly. Rounding out the top 5 were Chris Chiang, Todd Greenbarg, Dan Williams, and Chris Spears.

We’re grateful for the tireless work of our co-chairs Brian Beideman, Managing Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Brian Foster, Partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, and the StreetWise Board of Directors. Thank you for putting on a phenomenal event and securing outstanding silent auction items such as an incredible trip to the Master’s Golf Tournament in Augusta, GA, a wine getaway in Napa Valley, and a weekend in Kentucky touring horse farms, visiting bourbon distilleries, and watching horse races.

Thank you, too, to our generous and committed sponsors, who are the biggest and strongest financial backers of the tournament, continually raising the ante year over year.

See you next year, when we‘ll aim even higher to support our vision to create the most diverse, empowered and capable workforce for today and tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy more photos of the event in the gallery below.