Eastgate’s Charitable Bracelet Buyer Identified
January 23, 2012
Back in 2010 when Peter Eastgate auctioned off his WSOP gold bracelet for charity, many people thought he was nuts, but he did it anyway. The bracelet listed on eBay with a starting bid of $16K. One hundred and sixteen bids later, the bracelet sold for $147,500 to “7***l.”
The winning bidder was later identified as William Haughey, who recently granted an exclusive interview to PokerNews. In the interview, Haughey explains that he’s interested in organizing a charity event with the WSOP in which he will match raised funds up to $1 million. He also admitted that the reason he bought Eastgate’s bracelet was because it was for charity, as he himself has donated more than £5 million to various charities.
Haughey and his wife, who made their money via his refrigeration company, became fascinated by poker, so it only makes sense that he would combine his love for charity with his passion for poker. Using the WSOP bracelet he bought on eBay, Haughey hopes to raise about $2 million for charity ($1 million from the said event and $1 million matched by Haughey. He wants to give the bracelet back to the WSOP in hopes that they would put it in the Hall of Fame in an effort to “protect the integrity and the worthiness of the bracelet.”
His idea is that if an agreement can be made between himself and the WSOP, Haughey would like to donate $1 million to a cancer hospital in the UK and $1 million to a charity chosen by WSOP. He has a lot of good ideas and is very excited about raising money, though he is clear that he is not doing it for exposure. In fact, that’s why he’s remained unidentified as the buyer of the bracelet for two years now.
Keep an ear out for more on this exciting venture. Poker has always been a great vehicle for raising charitable funds, and it is because of the benevolent nature of poker players in general, like Haughey.
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