Chris Paul hosts TopSpin Ping Pong Charity Tournament at The Venetian tonight

By CHRIS PAUL SPECIAL TO NICHE DIVISION OF LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

8 years ago

Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers, right, with Clippers coach Sam Cassell, hosts the 2015 TopSpin Ping Pong Charity Tournament at The Venetian. (Erik Kabik)

Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers hosts the 2015 TopSpin Ping Pong Charity Tournament at The Venetian. (Erik Kabik)

Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers hosts the 2015 TopSpin Ping Pong Charity Tournament at The Venetian with a few of his friends. (Erik Kabik)

What’s up, Las Vegas? I’d like to say thank you to Robin Leach for inviting me to be a guest columnist this week. I hope that I can do him proud!

To start, I’m looking forward to hosting the 4th Annual TopSpin Charity Ping Pong Tournament at The Venetian tonight. It’s always great being at The Venetian and having an opportunity to be in Las Vegas.

I do want to take a moment to wish all the guys playing in Rio for Team USA good luck. I was fortunate enough to win two Olympic gold medals as part of Team USA, and I’m hoping that the boys can get it done this year, as well, and bring back the gold.

This year’s TopSpin is going to be another great event. We have more than 30 celebrities participating. As some of you might remember, there was an upset in the tournament finals last year when Sam Cassell beat me (who, BTW, didn’t let me live it down in L.A. Clippers practice all year).

It’s a great event that supports TopSpin’s charitable initiatives in New York together with the programs my family and I support through the Chris Paul Family Foundation.

TopSpin, founded in 2009, seeks to provide necessary resources for underserved youth to succeed. TopSpin raises awareness of the education crisis and provides financial support to numerous exceptional charities.

My family foundation is currently partnering with State Farm and NBA Cares this year to provide new technology for Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. In fact, we just finished a big project in Chicago.

It’s been amazing, and it’s great to be able to give back to the community in partnership with them. We also have completed projects in Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., and New York.

I hope to see you at TopSpin tonight at The Venetian. Your continued support makes it possible for us to continue assisting underserved communities across the U.S.

Additionally, you’ll get a chance to see some of your favorite faces from basketball, hockey, mixed martial arts and boxing, just to name a few. Hopefully, a few of the guys from USA Basketball also will stop by tonight.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Venetian.com/TopSpin. Again, thanks for your support. See you tonight!!!

All the best!

Chris Paul

Los Angeles Clippers