Pagcor holds first celebrity ‘slots for charity’ challenge

MANILA, Philippines—At least 20 local celebrities will join the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (Pagcor) “1st Celebrity Slots for Charity Challenge 2012”  to be held  this  Wednesday  at the Airport  Casino  Filipino in Paranaque City.

The “first-ever slots for charity” will start  at  7  p.m.,  Pagcor said  in a statement.

The celebrities who will participate include Pooh, Tirso Cruz III, Tonton Gutierrez, Troy Montero, Carlos Agassi, Jay-R, Richard Yap a.k.a. Papa Chen, Vince Hizon, Anthony Suntay, Nyoy Volante, Iwa Moto, Niña Jose, Aprilyn ‘Congratulations’ Gustillo, Marina Benipayo, Rachel Lobangco, Krista Kleiner, Vivian Velez, Patricia Bermudez-Hizon, Wendy Valdez and Paloma.

The celebrities will be playing for the charity of their choice.

“The chosen charitable institution of the top celebrity winner will receive a donation of P200,000 from Pagcor,”  the gaming firm’s assistant vice president for entertainment Bong Quintana said in a statement.

Among the chosen charitable foundations of the celebrities are La Proteccion dela Infancia, Child Haus, Hospicio De San Jose, Father’s House Bahay Ampunan, Philippine Orthopedic Volunteer Group, Tahanang Walang Hagdan, Philippine Children’s Hospital, Philippine General Hospital Ward, National Children’s Hospital Cancer Ward, World Vision, Gawad Kaligna, Francis Padua Papica Foundation, Refuge Orphanage, Banta Bata 163, and Philippine School for the Deaf.

The “Slots for Charity Challenge” is divided into the qualifying and the final rounds. During the qualifying rounds, Quintana said, each participant will be given P10,000 worth of credits for a 30-minute game in a slot machine.

The top 5 celebrities who will earn the highest total credits will advance to the final round.

In the final round, the five celebrity winners will once again be given P10,000 each as starting credit for a 30-minute game. The celebrity with the highest total credits earned during the final round wins the challenge.

Quintana said the tournament aimed not only to create a fun-filled event in Casino Filipino but more importantly create an event that would ultimately benefit charitable organizations that were in dire need of financial support.

“The 1st Celebrity Slots for Charity Challenge 2012 is part of Pagcor’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiative to help the less privileged. It is going to be a total entertainment activity with a very worthy cause,” he said.

For more information on the 1st Celebrity Slots for Charity Challenge 2012, please call Pagcor’s Entertainment Department at (02) 852-7758 or 852-7760.