On Thursday, March 2, 2023, YES Prep Public Schools welcomed Houston leaders across the business and philanthropic communities for the 18th Annual Oil & Gas Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament at Corinthian Houston. More than 550 guests attended the record-breaking event that raised $2.1 million to support YES Prep’s 24 campuses across Houston, which serve over 17,800 students in grades pre-K-4 and 6-12.
Nearly 80 corporate, foundation, and individual sponsors and their guests attended the event that raised over $1 million through sponsorships and an additional $1.1 million through night-of giving at the tournament.
In a thrilling final round, tournament emcee Bill Heuer of iHostPoker crowned Kenley Steeg, seated at the Alta Resources/Kiwi Energy table, the winner of the 2023 tournament.
The Oil & Gas Texas Hold 'Em Tournament is an annual event, made popular by Houston’s oil and gas industry. Since the first tournament in 2006, the event has raised over $20 million towards providing YES Prep students with the high-quality education they need and deserve.
Vitol was instrumental in the overall success of the event. Serving as the VIP reception sponsor, top sponsors and their guests were invited to the reception prior to the event in the Corinthian’s underground reception area known as “The Vault”. The Vitol Foundation capped off the night by matching every Vitol player’s night of donations resulting in an additional $175,000.
All funds raised at this year's event supported YES Prep's Leading Houston Forward Campaign. This is a five-year plan to build YES Prep elementary schools, add 10,000 high quality seats and strengthen its results with capacity to serve 22,000 students by 2025. Thanks to generous sponsors and attendees at this event, the $80 million fundraising campaign finishing line was reached!
To enjoy photographs from the event, click here.
Thank you to our major 2023 event sponsors!
If you are interested in learning more about this event, contact Caitlin Monteith at caitlin.monteith@yesprep.org.