Todd Rodgers Doing It for the Love of the Game and for Those in Need

By Kevin Taylor

In a field full of poker professionals, sometimes it’s a recreational player that can stand out amongst the crowd, and for Todd Rodgers, that would certainly apply.

The self-described amateur player runs a charity at sendmeonvacation.org, a company that organizes trips and vacations for breast cancer survivors and their families. Rodgers says he does it to provide a brief moment of happiness in otherwise dire situations.

“When you get diagnosed and you go through chemo and radiation, it’s just so horrible,” Rodgers told WPT.com. “Pretty much everyone I talk to has the bad beat cancer story in their family. It’s terrible, and you get drained financially, mentally, emotionally, and medically. We know we can’t fix it, but we try to brighten up their lives a bit.”

For the last five years, Rodgers’ organization has sent people to Hawaii, Thailand, and on various cruise ships as a way to provide some distraction and relief for these suffering families.

On one such cruise, Rodgers described a special event that they put on for nine breast cancer survivors.

“Sometimes we send them on cruises, which is great because they get food and lodging, and we hire a Hollywood makeup artist and costume person,” Rodgers said. “We sent nine women last time and we dressed them up like mermaids and did a photoshoot. You have no idea when your hair has fallen out and you’re depressed and you get this beautiful photo as a mermaid.”

Like many others, Rodgers said that he first learned poker when he was a kid, playing for pennies with his family. He went on to say that he would frequently visit cardrooms around the country during his travels as a salesman.

“I would go to various poker clubs and all they had at the time was stud,” he said. “It evolved from there, from seven-card stud to limit hold’em to no-limit hold’em. It used to be about the bluff, and now it’s about the value bet.”

While he doesn’t play a ton of big events, Rodgers said that he went bigger than usual this summer in Las Vegas, and he had some great experiences, along with making a little bit of money as well.

“I like to play the lower tournaments — the 1Ks and 1500s,” Rodgers said. “This summer, I played nine events at the WSOP, including two 5Ks and a 10K. I cashed in six of nine events, but not in the big ones. In the deeper-stacked events you have to be more patient and I have to adjust to that. I’m not all about the money I like expanding my skillset.”

Rodgers shared his starting table here at the Season XVI WPT Legends of Poker with poker icon Barry Greenstein, another one of the countless examples of recreational players living a dream by playing alongside poker stars and famous faces on TV.

Additionally, Rodgers was quick to point out that poker is not only a hobby of his, but that the community has been very supportive of his organization, helping to spread the word and raise money for it.

“Last year, we sent over 100 survivors on full-blown family vacations, no hooks, no penalties,” Rodgers said. “The WSOP and WPT have really helped by putting articles out and getting our names out. I got Phil Hellmuth to sign some books for us to auction off. Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer have made videos for us. I’ve found when I talk to the poker crowd, every one of them said they would love to help out.”

Rodgers says that poker will always be a bit part of his life, and that for him, it isn’t about the money involved, or at least not all about that.

“I do it for the love of the game,” he said. “The social aspect, the camaraderie. None of us are team players, but we are in this experience together. When people ask me how I live in Vegas and gamble all the time, I say: I don’t gamble, I compete.”

If you would like more information on Rodgers’ organization, check out sendmeonvacation.org.

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