Arizona Marines Ante-Up to Fight Drugs

Saturday night, October 24, fifty-eight station and visiting Marines competed in a no-limit hold’em tournament in Yuma, Arizona to bring awareness to the Drug Demand Reduction Program. The program’s goal is to lead the way to a drug-free civilian and military community.

Tournament creator and director, Mitch Rubinstein, who is also a Substance Abuse Counseling Officer (SACO), was more than pleased with the event:

“The Drug Demand Reduction Program was looking for an opportunity to set up a drug and alcohol-free event for station and visiting Marines, and they asked all of the SACOs for ideas,” he said. “I came up with the idea of having a poker tournament because it’s a pretty popular game right now and it’s something I enjoy. Being able to combine one of my hobbies with my job, which is helping Marines stay drug free, was a great opportunity.”
Not everyone who played was a poker aficionado. Many were complete novices who thought it would be fun to give the game a try. Since it was free and instructions were provided at each table, it was a great opportunity for the Marines to get together and have a blast in a risk-free environment.

Lt. Col. Phillip Woody, MWSS-371 commanding officer, agreed.

“When I lived in the barracks as private first class, we had very little to do other than go to the gym,” he explained. “I think anything we can do to keep the Marines on base and having fun without spending three to four dollars per beer in town is great. This provided a wholesome atmosphere for Marines to get together with their compadres, have a few laughs and enjoy some friendly competition.”

Lori Loghry walked away as the big winner, receiving a Marine Corps noncommissioned officer sword donated by Marine Wing Support Squadron 371.

The top ten finishers received special prizes but all entrants took home a set of custom poker chips emblazoned with the Marine Corps emblem.

Originally published October 28, 2005