With his stick useless to him until the fall, Washington Capitals wing Alex Ovechkin plans to show off his mechanics as a card sharp this month.
Ovechkin will be among the NHL stars participating in a charity poker tournament alongside celebrities, professional card players and winners of the PokerStars.net qualifying tournament, NHL.com reported.
The tournament will be played June 17 at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas during the 2009 NHL awards celebration, at which Ovechkin, the reigning MVP, might also clean up. Winnings -- from the poker tournament, not the awards celebration -- go to charities designated by the participants.
The tournament begins with a no-limit Texas hold 'em shootout, with the winners from each table advancing for the opportunity to play for more than $150,000 in prizes. The NHL players in the tournament -- joining Ovechkin will be Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks), Mike Richards (Philadelphia Flyers), Jeremy Roenick (San Jose Sharks), Sheldon Souray (Edmonton Oilers), Steve Sullivan (Nashville Predators) and Kris Versteeg (Chicago Blackhawks) -- each gets $2,000 for charity.
Also slated to bluff are NHL legends Pat LaFontaine, Cam Neely and Luc Robitaille and poker pros Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Vanessa Rousso.
