IT was 10 in the morning and you could feel the charge in the air as 100 poker players, mostly in denim, made for a full house at the Lucky Buck Card Room in Livermore. It not only had the look, but the sound and feel of a World Series of Poker tournament. The conversation level was low, if constant, and the players were huddled tightly over small green felt tables as they fingered their stacks of chips. Eventually the late arrivals entered red-eyed from the night before at the opening celebration of the five-day California Independent Film Festival. They bellied up to the tables just the same, equally no-nonsense in their attitude and ready to place their bets Held during the last week of October, this was a celebrity poker tournament to benefit the California Independent Film Festival, and maybe I was expecting to see a different breed of poker players - well, you know what I mean, the scary dudes in those mirrored shades and low-brimmed hats. Instead, I met up with the sweet smiling face of Susan Ruttan, who is best known for her role as the loyal legal secretary on TVs L.A. Law. She was there with her co-stars from the independent feature film produced by Livermores Jeff Morris, You Did What? Among them were A.J. Buckley from Wild Roomies, Ian Gomez from The Drew Carey Show and Jake in Progress, Edward Kerr from CSI: Miami, and Kathy Wagner from Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story.Also after chatting it up with Pleasanton film producer Donna Garrison about his recent directorial work on the action drama film 133, C. Thomas Howell of The Outsiders came to play. So did Clint Howard, the former child star of Gentle Ben and such movies as Apollo 13, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Splash. He was there to promote a short indie he was starring in, The Powder Puff Principle, along with Kevin Kliner from Almost Perfect and Art LaFleur from Santa Claus 2. Suddenly I was brought back to reality from all the stargazing by Dale Comman, who had recently renovated and expanded his poker facility to accommodate the tournament and all of its players. Is this crazy or what? he asked, a wide grin on his face. It was such a big deal that we couldnt pass it up.
Indeed, it was a big deal, but why poker? Why not a heated game of dominoes? Or golf?
Because poker is fun, he replied.
Yet it was more than that. Poker was a new twist on the old effort to stand out from the crowd, pointed out Tim Neeley, director of the California Independent Film Festival.
In past years weve had golf tournaments with around 40 players, and this year we put our finger on the pulse of the community, he said. As you can see from the outcome, it sold out fast, and we ended up with more than twice as many participants.
Speaking of which, I had accompanied one of the participants from Blackhawk to the tournament, Doralee Rae, who had finished 10th at the World Series of Poker Ladies Event in Tahoe three weeks earlier.
En route she had told me that you didnt have to be a pro to play in a tournament as long as you knew the basics of the game - in this case Texas Hold Em - and then added, It takes minutes to learn and a lifetime to master.
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