Inside the sold-out poker tournament with hedge funders, NBA stars, poker pros and an 'American Pie' actress

Hundreds of Wall Streeters filled Gotham Hall in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday night for the annual "Take 'Em To School" charity poker tournament.

The sold-out event raised around $850,000 for Education Reform Now, an advocacy organization that's committed to making sure all kids can access high-quality public education.

The event was co-chaired by Michael Sabat, who works in equity derivatives sales and trading at Sanford Bernstein, John Sabat, a quantitative portfolio manager with Cubist Systematic Strategies, and Whitney Tilson, the founder of Kase Capital.

Those in attendance included David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, Boaz Weinstein of Saba Capital, Paul Britton of Capstone, and John Petry of Sessa Capital. Pro poker players in attendance included Andy Frankenberger, Erik Seidel, Layne Flack, and Vanessa Selbst. Former NBA stars Allan Houston, Charles Smith, and John Starks were all there too. "American Pie" actress Shannon Elizabeth came close to winning the tournament.

A lot of hedge fund folks love poker. One fund manager said the game relates to investing: you have to be patient and know when to fold when you're dealt a bad hand.

In case you missed it, we've included photo highlights.