LORAIN — Lorain County’s first charity poker tournament may be happening as soon as Halloween weekend in Lorain, said promoter Mike Kennedy.

Kennedy, owner of Broadway Billiards on Broadway in Lorain, spent some time playing poker professionally and was instrumental in getting City Council to approve legislation allowing charity poker tournaments.

“I intend to raise $1 million for charity,” Kennedy said. “People can help me, watch me or try to stop me.”

Kennedy signed a two-year lease with two renewal options for 401 Broadway, where Fabian’s Restaurant used to be. It’s now the Lorain Charity Poker Festival Center.

The facility will house eight poker tables capable of seating up to 10 players per table. The tournaments will feature Texas Hold ’Em and Omaha poker.

Participants will often have a choice between multi-table tournaments, sit-and-go tournaments or cash games.

The charities receive a percentage of what participants will pay to play in a tournament. The remainder is the “pot” the tournament winner keeps.

The charities also will collect $10 to $15 an hour “rent” from players at cash tables, Kennedy said.

Kennedy already has heard from more than 30 charities interested in hosting tournaments to raise money. He’s hoping the charities will help each other out when dealers and other volunteers are needed to run a tournament.

“It’s a nice cozy venue,” Kennedy said of the newly christened poker center.

Kennedy got the charity poker bug after seeing a Cleveland venue struggling with too many charities and too little time in the year to host them all.

“They’ve raised millions for charity,” Kennedy said of the Cleveland location. “We could certainly help out charities in Lorain County.”

The charity would pay $1,500 for a four-day tournament. Of that, $100 goes to the city for a festival permit application plus another $100 a day to the city per day of the tournament.

Another $250 a day goes to Kennedy. The rest of the money raised goes to the charity.

Kennedy is in the process of helping several charities deal with the paperwork required for city permits and for the police who investigate whether a charity is legitimate.

“So many charities are in need right now with the way the economy is,” Kennedy said. “This is something we can help with.”

He said he hopes to have the first tournament Halloween weekend and said it’s just a matter of seeing which charity gets the paperwork completed first.

The tournaments would run Fridays through Mondays and would stop each night at midnight, Kennedy said.

Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or acastelli@chroniclet.com.

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