Celebrity Poker
Online casinos are fast becoming celebrity hang-outs. Online gambling, especially online poker, is beginning to attract Hollywood A-list celebs who like a flutter but guard their privacy too. Next time you go online gambling, you could find yourself at the same table as a real-life star of the silver screen.
From The Cincinnati Kid to Rounders, the drama of gambling has been the subject of many a Hollywood movie. But it's not just at the movies that poker is proving popular in Hollywood. Now the stars themselves are taking to the casino tables away from the big screen.
Celebrity poker is the latest big thing in Tinseltown, with stars raking in the bucks on the green felt, online and in the movies. In a way, it's hardly surprising - what could be more natural for an actor than the art of bluffing that's an essential part of being an excellent poker player?
Of course, movie stars and gambling have long been linked. Think of Sinatra, Dean Martin and the rest of the Rat Pack who made Vegas their own. More recently, Telly Savalas, the actor who played the 70s TV cop Kojak, was also an enthusiastic player, who took part in the World Series of Poker many times. But the recent online poker boom has fuelled a gambling splurge among the Hollywood set.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the acting pals who won an Oscar for the Good Will Hunting screenplay, share a love of poker as well as movies. Damon, who starred in poker movie Rounders, has taken part in several major poker tournaments, while Affleck is the more serious player, winning $356,400 in the California State Poker Championships.
Another Hollywood leading man who is making it big on screen and at the tables is Tobey McGuire. The Spider-Man star won $95,480 in Phil Hellmuth's Poker Invitational at the Hollywood Park Casino and has made creditable showings in several other tournaments.
Distinguished actor, James Woods, with roles in movies by a string of top directors under his belt, has also taken to poker. The El Salvador and Casino star is now the face of online poker room Hollywood Poker. With a reported IQ of 180, he may prove to be a formidable opponent.
It's not just men who are discovering the joys of poker, however. Mimi Rogers, who was once married to Tom Cruise, and whose credits include Someone to Watch Over Me and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, is a respected poker player who is on the Board of Directors of World Poker Tour Enterprises.
However, the star/poker player who is making the most headlines at the moment, as well as striking a blow for women players is Jennifer Tilly. The actress, who has appeared in Liar, Liar, and The Fabulous Baker Boys, and who received an Oscar nomination for her role in Bullets Over Broadway, recently beat 600 contenders to seize the crown in the World Series of Poker's No Limits Texas Hold 'Em Ladies Event at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas.
Tilly, who says she learned her poker skills 'by osmosis' from professional poker player boyfriend Phil 'Unabomber' Laak, walked away with $157,652, proclaiming that victory in the tournament was 'better than winning an Oscar'. With these kinds of prizes, we may see many more stars swapping Tinseltown for Las Vegas.
