The Isle of Man is to become known as the ‘Isle of Men’ for a day as part of a stunt to raise publicity about prostate cancer.
With support from the Manx government, it will see the official Isle of Man visitor information site read ‘Visit Isle of Men’ on September 25.
Prostate Cancer UK is also urging people to hold their own Lads’ Night In by playing a game of poker and donating the winnings.
Onchan-based Poker Stars is supporting the idea.
David Cretney MLC, the politician with responsibility for tourism, said: ‘The Isle of Men will come alive with the sound of poker chips on September 25 and hopefully more lives will be saved because of that.’
The deputy director of fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK, James Beeby, said: ‘Someone is diagnosed with prostate cancer every 15 minutes.
‘We’re doing everything we can to change this, but we need all the help we can get if we are going to stop the disease in its tracks.
‘That’s why we are calling on as many people as possible to get involved in Lads Night In, raise funds over a friendly game of poker, and help beat this silent killer once and for all.’
To increase awareness and early detection of prostate cancer and to support the efforts of ‘Lads Night In’, many members of PokerStars’ staff, Manx poker players and residents put on white boiler suits at the National Sports Centre, Douglas, to create a real life Prostate Cancer UK logo, a man made of men.
In the run-up to the fundraiser, Ballasalla-based Athol Garage has donated a ‘Lads Night In’ branded car to PokerStars staff to publicise the initiative.
PokerStars staff are being encouraged to take the car out and get a photo at their destination which they then upload to the Athol Garage Facebook page.
The car dealer will then pick a winner based on the most creative photo.
Bang and Olufsen has also joined in by donating prizes for competitions that ran at the Southern Agricultural Show and the Royal Manx Agricultural Show earlier this month.
The Palace Casino is hosting a ‘Lads Night In’ £50-entry tournament on Thursday, September 24.
As the prize pool is being donated to Prostate Cancer UK, there will be some non-cash prizes up for grabs, including UK and Ireland Poker Tour IOM tournament entries.
The Palace Casino is offering qualifier events with a £10 buy-in starting from August 28 and running every Friday until the ‘Lads Night In’ main event.
To host your own ‘Lads Night In’ sign up online {http://prostatecanceruk.org/get-involved/find-a-fundraising-event/lads-night-in|here}
Everyone who registers will receive a ‘Lads Night In’ pack, with a few gifts including a deck of cards.
See Poker Stars’ video {http://www.pokerstars.tv/en/tv/channels/2015/08/pokerstars-joins-forces-with-prostate-cancer-uk-for-charity-event.shtml|here}