"This is fantastic," Cohen said. "I usually
play with my friends; we bet $20."
David Forbes of Birmingham got knocked
out of the tournament after playing for about
an hour and a half. "There were a lot of great
players, I did the best I could," he said.
The top players won prizes including
watches and vacations. Sports memorabilia was
up for bids at an auction; items included a
football signed by former Super Bowl-winning
quarterback John Elway of the Denver
Broncos.
Money raised at the event will benefit the
Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation,
a national non-profit health foundation, and
the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign. The Ritz is
a non-smoking facility, but a special cigar room
was built just for the tournament.
Among the VIPs spotted in the crowd were:
Jennifer Forbes, Jill Gershenson, Ross Niskar,
Jason Scott and Ricky Rosin, all of
Birmingham; Roger Goodman, Steve Perlman
and Lyndon Nelson, all of Bloomfield Hills;
Billy Gershenson of Royal Oak; and Carla
Schwartz, Jackie Layne and Rick Kovacs, all of
West Bloomfield. 0
Darryl and Dr. Shari Rogers of
Bloomfield Hills
Sandy and Jackie Layne of
West Bloomfield
Denise Browne of Birmingham and
Pamela Nodel of Orchard Lake
Linden and Michelle Nelson of Bloomfield Hills and
Howard Rubin of West Bloomfield