Personal Life
According to the episode of the "National Heads-Up Poker Championship" aired on NBC on April 15, 2007, Cheadle defeated noted poker champion Phil Ivey in the first round of the tournament. The two met in the "Hearts & Diamonds" bracket. Cheadle, as an amateur player, was considered a significant underdog against the professional Ivey. On the episode aired April 29, 2007, in the second round of the tournament, Cheadle was defeated and knocked out of the tournament by Vegas poker pro Scott Fischman. In the same tournament in 2009, he defeated David Pham in the first round only to lose to Paul Wasicka in the round of 32.
At the 2007 World Series of Poker, Cheadle and poker player Annie Duke organized an annual charity poker tournament, "Ante Up for Africa". Many Hollywood actors were expected to play in the tournament, which had a $5,000 buy-in. Money finishers were encouraged to donate part of their winnings to the International Rescue Committee or the Enough Project. The annual tournament is one of two non-bracelet events listed on the official WSOP schedule.
In 2007, Cheadle was awarded the BET Humanitarian award of the year for his numerous humanitarian services he rendered for the cause of the people of Darfur and Rwanda.
On December 13, 2007, Cheadle and fellow actor George Clooney were presented with the Summit Peace Award by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in Rome for their work to stop the genocide and relieve the suffering of the people of Darfur. The award was presented by the World Summit of Nobel Laureates, Mikhail Gorbachev, and TheCommunity.com.
In 2008, Cheadle's family history was profiled on the PBS series African American Lives 2.
Read more about this topic: Don Cheadle
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