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Celebrities, top athletes, professional poker players, and autism supporters gathered at St. Regis Monarch Beach

Resort last weekend to attend Talk About Curing Autism’s 7th annual “Ante Up For Autism” fundraising event.

The gala and casino night is TACA’s largest event of the year, and grossed nearly $300,000 to benefit this national non-profit organization, whose mission is to educate, empower and provide support to families affected by autism.

More than 350 guests enjoyed a VIP red carpet entrance, cocktails, tournament poker, live and silent auctions, and tips from poker stars.

In addition to Joseph Reitman and Michelle Lau (co-hosts of this year’s event), special guests included actor Rich Sommer (AMC’s “Mad Man”), actor Kenny Johnson (“The Shield”), actor Johnathon Schaech (Showtime’s “Ray Donovan”) actor Tony Denison (TNT’s “Major Crimes”), actor David Marciano (Showtime’s “Homeland”), actress Lauren Potter (FOX’s “GLEE”), actor Edi Gathegi (“Twilight” Series & “House”), actress Amy Davidson, actress/TV Host Nicky Whelan, actor Chad Michael Murray, actor Ken Davitian, actress/model Leyla Milani (“Deal or No Deal”), musician John Easdale, actor Jason Gedrick, TV Host Bob Guiney, Ante Up for Autism Red Carpet Host Brittany Rodriguez, and poker professionals Shannon Elizabeth, Tiffany Michelle, Kenna James, and David Mosikian, as well as professional mountain bike racer Leigh Donovan.

The winner of the poker tournament was Kenna James.

Talk About Curing Autism is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to educating, empowering and supporting families affected by autism. For families who have just received the autism diagnosis, TACA aims to speed up the cycle time from the autism diagnosis to effective treatments. TACA helps to strengthen the autism community by connecting families and the professionals who can help them, allowing them to share stories and information to help improve the quality of life for people with autism. TACA currently serves over 36,000 families with autism.