Scott Diamond

I wrote this article last year on Memorial day and I find it fitting to share it with you again. My son in law returned safe from Iraq last month and we are all very thankful for it. However there are almost 5,000 others who have not.

A loss of a brother,sister,mother or father,cousin nephew or best friend is the hardest thing for me to deal with in life. It is not easy for anyone to lose someone but when we do there are others to help us through the tough time.

I started my Charity Poker Tournament after losing so many friends in Law Enforcement to not only help the families but to make others aware Fireman and Cops are here to help and we sometimes sacrifice our lives for you as the men and women of our military are right now.

Thank you to everyone who does something to make this world a better place to live.

Since the poker explosion in 2003, which in part owes thanks to ESPN's coverage of the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and amateur player Chris Moneymaker's remarkable win, poker players have adopted dreams of becoming not only millionaires, but world famous celebrities.

We have all witnessed the fame and fortunes so many poker players have received over the past few years. The World Poker Tour has made several unknown individuals household names, as have Internet poker sites. So many of today's players were still in junior high or high school when they started watching poker on television, well before they were legally old enough to gamble.

Some of the most famous players had their dreams planted in their minds either by reading about the game of poker, or seeing something on television which gave them the lust for victory. Most of the time, it takes hard work and dedication to make your dream become a reality, but we have seen several people make millions playing poker, winning a huge tournament only to return to being just an average player.

I was listening to a very successful poker player, Gavin Smith, on his radio show from the Mirage Poker Classic a few weeks ago. He and his co-host, Joe Sebok, were discussing the amount of poker players who probably still have money in the bank from playing poker on the tournament circuit, those who are actually successful at their trade. Their final estimate was around 200 people. I found this to be very interesting!

I started to think of how many people have been playing the tournament trail recently, and could this just be some kind of fad that will diminish soon? We all have dreams of being at the final table on television in a major event at the WSOP. We all see the rich and famous going weekly to these extravagant parties, driving fancy cars and eating at the best restaurants. But what price do these people have to pay for their new found fame and fortune?

Several of the poker players I talk with tell me of multiple times of not knowing where their next meal might come from, or where their life is heading. Watching ESPN the other night, they were talking about how Howard Lederer in his early days of playing poker back in New York he would sleep on a park bench in Greenwich Village at night. I never slept on a park bench, but when I was younger and had just moved to California I lost my job and had to spend the cool wintry nights in the back seat of my car for awhile.

I guess if I were twenty-one years old and living at home I would spend all my allowance and hard earned money bluffing on the Internet trying to gain fame and fortune. I would probably even get together with my buddies and bring my roll of hundreds and play Monopoly for $10k a game.

Dreams are what the world is made of. They're what we are made of. Or are they?

As I sit here and write this, my daughter's 24 year-old boyfriend, who did one tour in Afghanistan, is already being sent back to Iraq in a few weeks. What about his dreams? What about the dreams of 3,500 U.S.A. military men who have lost their lives fighting to protect a country from dictatorship?

Poker is a game, and some say life is a game. Both are very, very tough at times. So, if you're to be one of the lucky ones who wins a bracelet or two, remember all those other dreamers who are not able to be here with us today. Remember your tough times and try and continue to be the person your family would be proud of. We tend to forget those who have fought to protect this country from our enemies. Memorial Day gives us a time to reflect back and thank those heroes who never had the opportunity to fulfill their dreams of coming back home to the loved one who so patiently waited for them, and to start a family or raise the one's they already had.

I have a dream. Do you? You should, and if you don't, start working on one today. It could be as small as dreaming for a new outfit, to as big as winning the lottery. It can be as small as hoping you and your sibling will be able to get along, to as big as everyone in the world getting along. No more poverty, no more racism, no murders. No more wars.

But since most of you reading this are poker players, start dreaming of winning the Main Event and becoming the poker ambassador for the next year, living with the title of World Champ for the rest of your life. But do not forget those who allow us the freedom to live out our dreams, the men and women who have given their lives to keep America the Home of the Brave and the Land of the FREE.