Kruger raises $150,000 for fight against cancer

If Lon Kruger’s UNLV basketball team can make as much progress as his annual Coaches vs. Cancer event did this year, Runnin’ Rebel basketball fans might want to think about making plans to attend the Final Four. Or at least the Sweet Sixteen.

Despite dealing with the effects of a brutal economic recession, Kruger still managed to raise $150,000 for the American Cancer Society with the combination of his “Party at the Palms” on Sunday night at the Hardwood Suites at the Palms Casino Resort, and his two-day golf tournament at Southern Highlands and TPC Las Vegas on Monday and Tuesday.

“It went really well,” Melissa Stemmle, director of distinguished events for the American Cancer Society, said. “To make more money than we did a year ago in this economy really says a lot.”

This is the second year that Kruger has put on the event. Because of fewer expenses and better attendance at the Party at the Palms, the affair netted about $25,000 more than in its first year.

“We had a lot more people who wanted to donate this year,” Stemmle said.

That included TPC Las Vegas which donated the use of its course for the second day of golf.

“That was huge,” Stemmle said.

The Party at the Palms on Sunday night, which cost $100 per person, also sold 150 more tickets than in the inaugural year according to Stemmle.