As you’ll see from the photos below, Don Cheadle and Annie Duke are at it again — raising money for their favorite charity, Ante Up For Africa.

The latest effort to help victims in Darfur was a no-limit Texas hold’em tournament held Oct. 29 at the San Manuel Indian & Bingo Casino in Highland, Calif. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians pledged a guaranteed $500,000 to the charity for the event.

That brings the total of donations to Ante Up For Africa since it was launched in 2007 to more than $2.5 million — most of that given by poker payers.

The event drew plenty of poker pros and celebrities. Here are a few of them (photos by Vince Bucci/AP):

Actor Don Cheadle shows comedian George Lopez his hand at the second annual Ante Up For Africa Tournament at San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino To Benefit Darfur.

Actor-comedian Marlon Wayans and top poker pro Chris Ferguson share a table during the tournament. A wristband instead of your World Series main event bracelet, Chris?!

Ante Up For Africa co-founders Annie Duke and Don Cheadle have plenty to smile about upon their arrival at the event.

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Don Naifeh

When I first met Don Naifeh in Reno at the World Poker Challenge in March, we were headed to the golf course with our mutual friend Woody Moore. Both of them kicked my butt on the course, but that evening Don and I made the final table of a seniors no-limit hold’em event. That was cool!

Later I learned that Don was a floor supervisor at the World Series of Poker and also the “co-star” of the critically-acclaimed book, “In Search of Burningbush”, by noted writer Michael Konik. Over drinks and chow I also realized that Don was a great storyteller and quite a character, so I made him promise to give me an interview during this year’s World Series.

Because of length restrictions, my recent column drawn from that interview only scratches the surface of Don’s fascinating life. Since his full story is too good to shortchange, I now have posted excerpts from our lengthy chat this summer which I think you’ll find interesting.

Click here for the column and here for the interview. Enjoy!

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UPDATE: Father Rambo won three straight matches, claimed his $100,000 prize and now is qualified for the final table show where $1 million will be on the line. The priest defeated ex-NBA player John Salley, PokerStars pro Vanessa Rousso, and then Negreanu. Upcoming episodes are set for Oct. 18, Nov. 22, Dec. 13 and Dec. 27 after Sunday NFL games on FOX.

WILD WEEKEND: POKER PROS POSE TOPLESS AND A PRIEST PLAYS HOLD’EM ON TV

Nothing in my 50 years of playing poker prepared me for this blog entry!

First, there’s the above photo of Scotty Nguyen, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu playing poker topless. Yikes!

Then, OMG, a priest will play poker Sunday on the new TV show, “Million Dollar Poker Challenge.” Holy cow!

Still, Ol’ LuckyDog feels obligated to keep you abreast of important poker news, so here’s the scoop:

* The photo is included in ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue which just hit newstands. Most of the stars pictured in the mag are well-known athletes with truly buff bodies. This lone pic kinda proves that poker isn’t a sport, but that’s beside the point, I reckon.

The antic-filled reputations of Hellmuth and Nguyen in the poker world make their appearance in the photo unremarkable (well, except for man-boob jokes about Hellmuth).

Negreanu is fun-loving in a different way and reportedly twice turned down the invitation to pose topless. But hey, I suppose ultimately he just couldn’t pass up a chance to wear his PokerStars patch on something other than a shirt or hat.

Harman’s acceptance, meanwhile, caught me off-guard. Not in a bad way, mind you. Unless you’re breaking a law or hurting someone, I’m all for letting people do what they’ve gotta do.

It’s just a bit shocking because, well, she probably is the calmest, nicest, quietest and most civil poker player I’ve ever met. She’d qualify as the girl-next-door type except for her extraordinary drive and tenacity and courage in high-stakes poker games.

Now she’s showing her, uh, fun side. Good for her, I say. Bless her heart!

* Speaking of blessings and such, a lot of folks returning home from church Sunday to watch football on FOX may be surprised right after the Vikings-Rams NFL game to see a Catholic priest compete on the newest poker show, the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Poker Challenge.

Father Andrew Trapp, 28, of Garden City, S.C., plans to use his winnings to help build his parishioners a new church. The faithful at St. Michael’s no doubt will be saying a few good-luck prayers for the priest they fondly call “Father Rambo” due to his love of paintball.

Before you get too worked up about a man of the cloth playing poker, read what Father Trapp said in a recent news release:

“Poker is one of my hobbies. I play it with family and friends. It’s a way for people to come together, have fun and enjoy each other’s company. There’s no moral issue. Even if I didn’t win any money, it would be an opportunity for people across the country to see that there are still young men choosing to be priests, and that one can be joy-filled and have fun as one serves God.”

Amen!

The aforementioned Negreanu, a Team PokerStars Pro, will play a big role in the priest’s pursuit — first as a coach when he plays against a celebrity and, if he makes it to Round 2, a PokerStars pro such as Chris Moneymaker or Barry Greenstein. In Round 3, he’ll have to play against Negreanu, if he gets that far.

In his latest blog entry, Negreanu said the “Challenge” is a game show first and a poker show second, and that recording it was “a blast.” As for a priest being a contestant, he said: “You just don’t see that every day!”

To which I say: Go get ‘em, Father Rambo!

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BAD BEHAVIOR BY SOME MEN KEEP WOMEN AWAY

In a recent column I bad-mouthed the guy who entered — and won! — a big ladies hold’em tournament at the Borgata in Atlantic City (click here if you missed that article). Discrimination issues aside, I wrote that his misguided action didn’t do the game of poker any favors.

Whatever his “legal rights” were to play in the event, he missed the bigger picture as far as poker is concerned. Yes, the game offers a level playing field for everyone regardless of sex, race, religion etc., and that’s a beautiful thing.

But this guy and all of those macho men who regularly make women feel uncomfortable at the table — you know who you are, fellas — have long contributed to the stereotype that poker is a male’s domain and women should stick with knitting.

Actions that foster such exclusivity are the main reason women comprise such a small portion of the poker-playing universe. Check the tables of any card room or tournament and you’ll rarely find more than 5 percent of the players are women.

That makes women the most under-represented and important demographic in a game which benefits big-time by attracting new players. Ladies tournaments — where the atmosphere is much more comfortable for many women players, especially beginners — are part of the answer to building up the number of women players overall.

I say let the gals have their events. And when they feel they’re ready to mix it up with the guys, then the guys need to treat them with respect at the table.

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