While the rest of Madison enjoyed a warm, cloudless Saturday, poker players began puffing away on cigars and sipping whiskey. Inside the unassuming Tasting Room — a cigar bar in Monona nestled against the bank of the Yahara River — they were waiting contentedly for the start of “Cards for a Cause,” a fundraiser for Felicia’s Donation Closet.
Started by Felicia Raye Diny during the pandemic, the nonprofit helps domestic abuse victims furnish and stock their homes as they move into more permanent housing, a cause that’s personal to Diny.
“That’s the whole reason why I started this,” Diny said. “I am a survivor. I think it happens more than people realize.”
So far, the organization has helped 252 families in the Madison area. Felicia’s Closet hosts a fundraiser every October during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but the poker tournament is a first.
The Tasting Room felt more like a bar in New York or Chicago than Monona. Mixing cozy and classy, fur rugs, a fireplace and, today, three poker tables filled the space. A long bar extended through the L-shaped building. Sun streamed through the massive windows, warming the big brown leather chairs and illuminating the relentless haze of cigar smoke.
The 20 players included 17 men, from roughly age 30 to 70, the majority of whom were sporting baseball caps and some form of camouflage clothing. Everyone drank and chatted, one eye always on the Badger football game playing on the bar’s TVs. One of the three women playing was Felicia’s mom, Kelly Diny. It was only noon, and the cards wouldn’t be dealt for another hour.
As players continued to trickle in, Felicia bounced around the bar, making sure everything ran smoothly. Her bright purple knee-high boots and blonde hair were at odds with the deep browns and camo of the Tasting Room.
Just before the game got started, coffee and Bloody Marys were rushed around the room as the players settled in at the three oval tables, ready for three hours of gameplay. A tall man in a suit from the Tasting Room introduced the game. They’d be playing no-limit Texas Hold ’em, 12 rounds, $100 buy in, but with opportunities during the breaks to buy back in, he explained.
“This tournament is not about surviving, per se, it’s about being in the top three chip stacks,” the man said.
Felicia then gave a few words introducing her organization and revealing the donated prizes for the top three players: a smoker, a golf putter and a tool kit “with some other dude thing” included with it, as she put it.
When the first cards were dealt, the room grew quiet, heavy with concentration and tobacco. Occasional quips from each table, the dealer’s instructions and the clink and clatter of poker chips being thrown were the only sounds of the tournament in motion. Meanwhile, volunteers and a few spectators chatted and snacked on donated food in a little lounge area past the poker tables.
In the past, the organization put on “Flights for Felicia,” a wine tasting event geared towards women, but the event didn’t perform as well as Felicia would have hoped.
“It wasn’t working,” Felicia said. “We gave it two years.”
Felicia thought, “You know what? Let’s hit the men,” and did a full demographic switch.
According to Felicia, the organization raised more in ticket sales at “Cards for a Cause” than any other previous October fundraiser, filling 20 of the 25 player spots.
“When Felicia first told me about this, I was like, ‘Nobody is going to come,’” said Marcia Sokol, development director of Felicia’s Donation Closet.
Despite most of the men not knowing about the organization before their arrival, the players were simply excited to participate in an afternoon of drinking, smoking and competition. The fundraising just seemed to be a bonus.
After an hour of being intently focused on the game, the competitors took a short break. Some wandered outside to the sunny patio, a new world compared to the smokey fog inside.
Despite the slight time crunch from starting late, the dealers kept the game moving. Finally, two hours into playing, the first player left the game. Felicia sipped rosé, chatting with the other volunteers and family and friends who’d come for the event.
Soon after, only 14 players, including the three women, remained. Cigars were relit.
“What a mean-ass game,” one of the players remarked, with only two tables still left in the tournament.
Four people went “all in” at table two. Many of the players who’d bowed out gathered around the table to watch the action. Kelly Diny was the only woman still playing.
“I’m out,” one of the men playing said.
Finally, only one table was still playing. A large crowd hovered around the players.
“Last hand,” said the man in the suit. “This is it.”
“I can pull this out and ride it until the end,” said Brent Stokes, a Tasting Room poker regular.
Across the excited shouts during the final round, Stokes ended up placing third, or “first loser,” in his opinion. Kelly Diny placed second, while an older man placed first.
The group continued to reflect on the past three whirlwind hours of gameplay over fresh drinks, the cigar smell no longer noticeable after four hours bathing in the smoke. It was almost 5 p.m. now, and the sun began to dip outside, basking the bar in an orange glow.
“Hopefully this is just the first of many,” said a Felicia’s Closet employee.
Felicia’s Closet is always looking for more volunteers. Find out more about volunteering and future events on their website.
