This is a featured post from Jenni Henderson.
In the past ten years, poker has become increasingly popular among many people, including celebrities. Although many are willing to play for charity events and shows, there are stars of the big screen who have taken on poker to a semi-professional level.
In 2012, dozens of celebrities took part in the “Four Kings & an Ace” charity poker tournament for Mending Kids International. Robert Downey Jr, Gene Simmons, Danny Trejo and Jodie Foster all played and Mel Gibson hosted the event. Gene Simmons was particularly confident about winning but star appeal was more important than poker skill.
Tobey Maguire
Most famous for his role in Sam Raimi’s Spiderman trilogy, Tobey is something of a dark horse in the poker world. He has participated in several poker tournaments and regularly hosts semi-high stakes games at his home in the Hollywood Hills with stars like Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio. After picking up tournament poker in 2004 he was tutored by poker pro Daniel Negreanu and according to the professional Phil Hellmuth he has won over $10 million in Hollywood homegames.
Jennifer Tilly
One of the most recognisable voices in Hollywood has won nearly $600,000 in tournament winnings. The actress behind the Bride of Chucky and Bonnie on Family Guy is married to the professional player Phil Laak, who took over her lessons from her father. They obviously did well, as she won both the Ladies Event at the World Series and the Ladies Night Invitational in the World Poker Tour – the first woman to ever win both titles in one year. She’s a ruthless player and one of her tricks is to wear a push-up bra and low-cut top to distract less professional contestants.
Shannon Elizabeth
This gorgeous woman from American Pie and Scary Movie was raised in Texas and played Poker since a young age; she’s now an old hand at Holdem, Seven-Card Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo and many other variations. In 2007 she came in third at the NBC National Heads-Up Championship, and it looks as though she also uses her looks to distract other players!
Ben Affleck
Our next Batman, Affleck is one of the best-known celebrity poker players as he was the first celebrity to win a major open Poker tournament when he won $365,000 at the California State Poker Championship in 2004. Although reports of his skill level vary, he is apparently much better than regular co-actor Matt Damon, who by all means should stick to playing poker online at Bgo.com so no one can see his terrible poker face. Affleck recently starred in the film Runner Runner in which he plays Ivan Block, the millionaire owner of an illegal offshore poker website; funnily enough, Tilly’s partner Phil Laak consulted on the film and has played Affleck several times in real life.
Poker is becoming increasingly popular in celebrity circles, especially with the stars of Hollywood who regularly hold games there or travel to Las Vegas. For Shannon Elizabeth and Jennifer Tilly, it’s a second career, affording them time away from the stresses of film acting – albeit toward another stressful profession, professional poker.