"The goal of our first live poker event and tournament is to bring Zynga Poker fans from Facebook to the felt," said Laurence. Zynga was founded in July 2007 in San Francisco by Mark Pincus, who named the startup after his late American bulldog Zinga. The company is known for combining philanthropy and business, having raised more than $5 million for charitable causes through game play. In the latest humanitarian crisis in Japan, Zynga is offering digital donation channels and has taken only 36 hours (and counting) to raise $1 million for Save the Children Japan relief efforts, asking users to donate through the purchase of virtual goods in FarmVille, CityVille, FrontierVille and other games.