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As online casinos across the internet begin to offer special Christmas bonuses to their players, two land-based casinos in the United States have decided to use blackjack to give in a different way. Each casino held a major blackjack tournament recently, and generated mountains of toys for underprivileged children.

Last weekend in Evansville, Indiana, the Casino Aztar teamed up with the Salvation Army to host their annual Toy Town blackjack tournament. Entry fees for the event were waived for any participant who donated a new toy. The event generated quite a lot of local interest, and by the end of the weekend the casino had accumulated a pile of 1,300 new toys, along with several large cash donations. All of the toys have been bagged up and sent to the Salvation Army for distribution.

A similar event was recently held at the Ho-Chunk Casino in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Their Kops for Kids Blackjack Tournament generated boxes full of toys and more than $4,000 in cash donations. Participants had a choice to either offer a $30 cash donation, or to give a toy worth $30 or more. This is the 23rd year that the Kops for Kids charitable event has run. Each year, local human service agencies nominated underprivileged children to attend a Christmas party where the toys will be distributed.

Because of the international nature of online blackjack, events like this are difficult to host. Some sites give to charitable organizations and environmental agencies, but most just give to their players. Intercasino, for example, is handing out $40,000 in holiday bonuses this season, with $10,000 reserved exclusively for blackjack players. Browse our news archives to see what other Christmas treats are available this month.