Poker Championship a Great Success

Sherry Jones wasn't sure she was going to play cards that night. She'd never played Texas Hold'Em on a large scale and was sure that her play would be ridiculed. But, she wanted to support her son, Jake, a member of the JV baseball team at and it was a charity event after all, how mad could anyone be with her?  

As it turns out, plenty! First, Sherry secured a big prize by achieving the "Best Hand of the Night." In fact, it was the best hand in the history of the seven-year event, a king high, straight flush. For her good fortune, Sherry was awarded a $150 dinner event and basket from , one of 50 local event sponsors.

Sherry went on to win her table to play at the final table against the top 10 finishers from the original field of nearly 100. This made her the "Last Female Sitting," earning her choice of massage services from on Chapel Hill Road.

Preston and Beth Barnes came to the event to support family friend, Mike Moffett, who organizes the event for Chapel Hill High School each year. After sharing in the banquet-style dinner provided by Atlanta's Finest Catering, they went their separate ways, Preston to the poker tables and Beth to black jack.  

A few hours later, the couple was celebrating winning both grand prizes. Preston beat out the entire field of players to become the grand champion. Beth's original donation for chips grew and grew throughout the night at the blackjack table giving her the best odds of winning the grand raffle prize. In a heart-warming twist of fate, both won round trip airline tickets on Delta Airlines, which they plan to use for a nice vacation in the next 18 months.

Ed and Cecilia Cahill won the grand raffle prize, a brand new 42-inch Plasma television donated by Mark and Debbie Abernathy and Reems Enterprises. 

The biggest winners were the Chapel Hill High School Panthers' Dugout Club. After providing a very reasonable night of food and entertainment to more than 100 Douglasville friends and residents, they were able to deposit $4,000 into the organization's account.

In the past three years, more than $50,000 in essential improvements to the baseball and softball facilities have been implemented. Thanks to the support from the community, the fields will eventually become an oft-visited venue all Douglas County residents will be proud of.