Back in 2010, Rob Riggle called fellow Shawnee Mission graduates Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis with an idea. “Let’s host a poker tournament to raise money for Children’s Mercy.” Without hesitation, they each agreed and immediately called upon their family and friends to help pull it off. With only nine weeks of planning, the first Big Slick Celebrity Weekend was born.
The guys’ friends like Will Ferrell, director Adam McKay, Bobby Cannavale, George Wendt and SNL alum Will Forte helped them raise over $120,000 that first year. In more recent years Rob, Paul and Jason brought on area natives Eric Stonestreet and David Koechner to join them as hosts and in 2023 added Big Slick regular & familiar KC hometown friend, Heidi Gardner, as the official sixth host of Big Slick.
2025 marks the 16th year of this event which has raised more than $24 million through sponsorships, a live auction, branded merchandise and various other fundraising campaigns since the event was launched.
