The EFF Benefit Poker Tournament is back for DEF CON 33! Your buy-in is paired with a donation to support EFF’s mission to protect online privacy and free expression for all. Play for glory. Play for money. Play for the future of the web. Seating is limited, so reserve your spot today.
Find Full Event Details and Registration
When: Friday, August 8, 2025 - 12:00-15:00
Where: Horseshoe Poker Room, 3645 Las Vegas Blvd Overpass, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Venue Notes: The EFF Benefit Poker Tournament will be hosted at the Horseshoe, the same venue as the last 2 years. The Horseshoe is conveniently located on a monorail stop. You might also want to view this helpful video from Deviant Ollam, who did a walking tour and measured distances for most major locations around the new venue.
Tournament Specs: $100 Horseshoe tournament buy-in, with a donation of $250 or more to EFF to sign up. (AND all players will receive a complimentary EFF Titanium Level Membership for the year.) Re-buys are unlimited to level 6, with each having a suggested donation of $100 on site. Levels will be fifteen minutes, and the blinds go up at each level. Attendees must be 21+.
Pre-Tournament Clinic: Have a friend that might be interested but not sure how to play? Have you played some poker before but could use a refresher? Join poker pro Mike Wheeler (Tarah’s dad) and celebrities for a free poker clinic from 11:00 am-11:45 am just before the tournament. Mike will show you the rules, strategy, table behavior, and general Vegas slang at the poker table. Even if you know poker pretty well, come a bit early and help out.
Emcee & Celebrity Guests: We are excited to announce that lintile will be emceeing this year and we’ll have Celebrity Bounties again! Knock out Wendy Nather, Chris “WeldPond” Wysopal, Jake “MalwareJake” Williams, Bryson Bort, or Allan Friedman and get neat EFF swag and the respect of your peers! Plus, as always, knock out Tarah's dad Mike, and she donates $250 to the EFF in your name!
The Glory: The tournament winner will receive the traditional Jelly Bean Trophy and we hope you’ll like this year’s newest add: We will have bug bounty pins this year! When you take someone out of the tournament, they will give you a pin. Prizes—and major bragging rights—go to the player with the most bounty pins.
