Many famous people are addicted to casinos and money games. Often, journalists find famous actors, athletes, singers, or models in the rooms of gambling clubs. Actors often start visiting casinos to prepare for playing the roles of gamblers, and later, they become fond of gambling. Every celebrity has his/her passion: some prefer roulette, others are fond of card games like baccarat, poker, or blackjack, and there are those who leave casino chips in slots. Let us consider the stars who like spending their evenings at the casino.
Poker Club
In June 2011, the FBI uncovered an underground gambling club that was a favorite spot of such famous actors as
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Matt Damon
- Ben Affleck
- Tobey Maguire
For 5 years, two times a week, an underground gambling VIP club was held in reputable hotels in Los Angeles. There, famous actors played poker for big money.
The scandal erupted around Brad Ruderman an unsuccessful player who lost more than $4 million to the actors. It turned out that the lost money did not belong to Ruderman personally, but it was the contributions of the clients of his investment fund. Ruderman created a financial pyramid, promising depositors high-interest rates, but he spent this money on poker. The defrauded investors filed a lawsuit, which sentenced Ruderman to 10 years in prison.
Tobey Maguire is an excellent poker player. According to unofficial data, he wins in poker about a million dollars a month. He won 310 thousand dollars from Ruderman, with 110 of them in one hand.
Ben Affleck is also a professional card player. In 2004, he won over $350 thousand in the poker championship, and in 2001 $800 thousand in blackjack.
Matt Damon is a very addictive person, but he rarely wins. Playing a gambler in the movie “Rounders,” Matt lost over $25 thousand.
Leonardo DiCaprio started playing poker after breaking up with his girlfriend, model Bar Rafaeli. Leo is a very cautious player he never makes large bets exceeding several tens of thousands of dollars.
“Matt has never won a match, Affleck plays great, and Leo is a very cautious player,” describes the actors one of the members of this poker community.
This story became so famous and interesting that the Hollywood film “Molly’s Game” was filmed based on it.
Ocean’s Eleven
The famous film Ocean’s Eleven inspired some of its actors for casino games. Among them were Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
During filming a movie, Brad Pitt could often be found playing poker or slot machines. Once, the actor even lost 25 thousand dollars to his driver. This came after the successful premiere of True Story, in which Pitt served as executive producer. The actor wanted to celebrate the success with the poker game and promised $25,000 to whoever wins it. The winner was Brad Pitt’s personal driver. “I think Brad deliberately bluffed to succumb to the driver. He lost to financially help his family,” said the ex-wife of the actor Angelina Jolie.
George Clooney also became interested in gambling after the film Ocean’s Eleven. Journalists often spot the actor at the gambling tables of Las Vegas casinos. He is so keen on gambling that, together with his friend Brad Pitt, he was going to implement a project of his own casino. Clooney invested $7 million in this business, but the casino never opened. More stories related to celebrities and gambling can be found if you visit this site.
Gambling Сharity
Famous American actress, producer, director, and model Eva Longoria is a big fan of card games, in particular, poker. In 2008, Eva and her friend, singer, and model Victoria Beckham, planned to open their casino restaurant. However, these plans were not destined to come true. Nevertheless, Eva organized her charity poker tournament with the support of the Eva’s Heroes Foundation. Prominent actors, businessmen, singers, athletes, and public activists participate in it. All collected funds go to a charitable foundation for children with intellectual disabilities.
Actress Cameron Diaz first got acquainted with gambling while visiting her friend, comedian, and TV presenter Ellen DeGeneres. That evening, Cameron managed to not only master the rules of Texas Hold’em but also turn out an absolute winner. Since then, the actress often spends her free time at the casino playing poker, blackjack, or slots. She has repeatedly confessed her gambling addiction and even wanted to limit her entrance to some casinos. But she learned to turn this addiction into good. The actress donates most of the money she gained to a charitable foundation for people with cancer.
Professional Players
Jennifer Tilly is a famous 90s actress, screenwriter, and professional poker player. In 2005, Jennifer took first place in the World Series of Poker, where she overcame 600 competitors and won over $150,000. In 2008, the actress declared her leaving from professional poker. “Let me treat poker as a hobby rather than a career,” she commented. However, in 2010, she got back to competition again. Jennifer’s total winnings are over a million dollars.
Victoria Coren Mitchell is an English writer, host, and professional poker player. During her poker career, she managed to win first place in several competitions:
- Celebrity Poker Club 2005
- European Poker Tour London 2006
- European Poker Tour Sanremo 2014
Her overall tournament winnings are over $2,500,000. Until 2014, Coren became a part of a reputable gaming community Poker Stars. She stopped working with the company after PokerStars declared the creation of an online casino. The writer said that online platforms are more influential in potentially addicted players, and she does not want to participate in this.
Conclusion
There are lots of celebrities who are attracted to gambling. Someone is carried away by the process, someone by the result, while others just want to unwind after a hard day’s work. And some of them change their profession to gambling.
You can rarely find an actor who spends free spins in slots as the majority of the celebrities prefer poker. In it, actors can show their professional skills to the limit. After all, it is almost impossible to guess from the behavior of Leonardo DiCaprio or Brad Pitt how successful the game is. It doesn’t matter what your hobby is – the main thing is that you enjoy the process and the result.
