Nourish International has canceled its annual Hold 'Em For Hunger 2008 Tournament in the face of concerns about the legality of the contest.
A person who administrators describe as "an expert in the industry" sent a letter to the chancellor's office informing them of the University's potential for criminal liability.
"The University's policy is certainly clear," said Winston Crisp, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs. "If they're sponsored or recognized by the University, then they have to follow all federal and state statutes."
Gambling of any kind is listed as a Class 2 misdemeanor by the N.C. General Assembly.
With only six weeks until the April 20 event, organizers are scrambling for other ways to raise funds for Nourish, which relies on the event for about 70 percent of its annual budget.
"Because of the time period with which this happened, there is no way we can … do a big event," said Graham Boone, the tournament director.
He said the group is determined to raise money for Nourish projects through a variety of other smaller events, including auctioning poker chips with the Hold 'Em For Hunger logo on them.
"I have 20,000 of these chips in my apartment, and it breaks my heart every time I look at them," Boone said.
Nourish uses the tournament money to fund international summer service projects implemented by its members.
This year's service workers planned to construct a community center in Mexico, implement a water system in a remote area of Peru and start a microfinance initiative and build greenhouses in Honduras.
"We need to raise about $10,000 so the projects can be run as is," Boone said. "And we're projecting that we can probably raise about $13,000 over the next weeks."
The event was expected to double in size from last year, from 510 players and about $12,500 in revenue to more than 1,000 players and $25,000 in revenue expected this year.
"We had over $13,000 in prizes to give out, including a full European vacation from STA Travel," Boone said.
Boone stressed that because the organization projected the tournament to grow so much, coordinators sought legal advice, assuring them that they would be within the law. But Crisp said they had not consulted with the University Counsel or the Office of the Dean of Students.
"The University's interest is in maintaining legality," Crisp said. "So if the organization was able to get something done that would allow the event to go on legally, I don't believe the University would be against it."
But the organizers of Hold 'Em For Hunger have pledged to seek a governor's exception for the charitable project.
"I can promise you this: We're going to fight as hard as we can to get this money raised, then get the tournament back," Boone said.
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