Celebrities and poker go together like peas and gravy… to quote Forrest Gump. The World Series Of Poker is a series of poker tournaments held in Las Vegas every year, and for many years, the event has attracted a number of celebrities to the poker rooms of Caesar’s Palace. You’d be surprised as to who likes to hit the tables, stack their chips and go for gold in the WSOP, as many of them are some really quite well-known actors. Here. we take a look at a few of them.
Ray Romano
First up is Ray Romano, he of Everybody Loves Raymond fame. The actor, who popped up in a movie called Rob The Mob last year, is a regular at the World Series Of Poker, and in 2013 achieved a personal best by making it to the third day of play. This year, Romano appeared at the WSOP once again, and was actually sat on adjacent tables to his Everybody Loves Raymond co-star Brad Garrett. Garrett famously outlasted Romano and even a lot of pros at the poker event in Las Vegas this year.
As well as poker, Romano continues his career as an actor, and has recently been seen in the TV series Parenthood, and in 2016 will appear in new show Vinyl, and return as the voice of Manny in Ice Age: Collision Course.
James Woods
James Woods is a truly iconic actor. After appearing in such films as Salvador for Oliver Stone, the crime drama Once Upon A Time In America, the Sylvester Stallone starrer The Specialist and many more, Woods played the role of Lester Diamond in the 1995 Martin Scorsese classic, Casino. It seems that Woods likes frequent trips to the casino himself, and has been seen on the World Series Of Poker tours many times. The legendary actor won nearly $40,000 in the WPT LA Poker Classics event, and continues to play in tournaments both across the US.
Woods was even involved in the launch of the website Hollywood Poker, a poker site which allowed normal guys and gals play poker with famous celebrities. Hollywood Poker folded, players can join in the action at PokiesPalace and other such websites and learn how to play Texas Hold ‘Em, perhaps the most popular poker game on the planet.
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is known for her high-profile Hollywood acting gigs in the likes of Bound and even on the TV show Family Guy, but she’s always had an interest in poker, and been a regular face on the circuit. Tilly appeared in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed Event earlier in 2015, where she came 15th, winning just over $25,000, but over the past few years has appeared at the WSOP quite frequently. Tilly’s career best came in 2005 when she won over $150,000 at the WSOP Ladies Only Event. The actress came 1st in the event, which took place at the 36th World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas.
Tilly continues to play in major poker tournaments around the world even to this day. She also sometimes acts. It’s becoming more common to balance two careers, and we recently listed ten actors that are also pro poker players.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Everyone knows that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are best friends in real life. The two Boston natives famously wrote the Oscar-winning movie Good Will Hunting in the 1990s, and since them both of them have gone on to star in countless blockbuster movies. Affleck is going to be the next Batman in next year’s Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, while Damon is currently at the top of the film charts around the world in Ridley Scott’s The Martian. The two actors are also budding poker players, and as well as playing poker for Africa back in 2007, they have both have appeared at WSOP events in the past too. Affleck and Damon famously appeared at the World Series Of Poker in 2012. Affleck is definitely the better player, and has won over $300,000 during his poker career, while one report suggest that Damon has only won $500. However, Damon is the actor to have appeared in perhaps the best movie about poker ever, the fantastic Rounders.
