Exclusive: The Glamour and Glitz of Celebrity Poker Players

The anticipation, the glamour, the glitz and the thrills of celebrity poker players ever known are being showcased for your knowledge and enjoyment. With poker offering the full range of emotions, there is little wonder it has become supremely popular among celebrities, sportsmen, women and those with a taste for the finer things in life.

From high-stakes private games (you may recall certain actors coming under scrutiny in the bestselling book and movie Molly’s Game) to competing in World Series of Poker tournaments, celebrities enjoy edge-of-the-seat card action just as much as the rest of us.

Some experienced plenty of success at the table while others might be best off playing low-stakes or even free-play games anonymously online. So, we have shortlisted those we think are the most celebrity poker players on the planet. Explore the list below and share your views:

Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly is unarguably the best player on our list. She is an actress whose credits include Bride of Chucky, Liar Liar and Bound. You may also know her as the voice of Bonnie Swanson on the animated series Family Guy.

However, her achievements on the poker table have far outweighed those on the silver screen. Tilly is a former WSOP bracelet winner whose career earnings are approaching the $1m mark.

John Boyega

When he isn’t taking down the Dark Side as a warrior in the Star Wars franchise, John Boyega has been known to frequent the poker tables. Most famously, he took part in a PokerStars Duel event back in 2015, when he took on football sensation Neymar in a head-to-head, winner-takes-all battle for charity.

Kevin Hart

The award-winning comedian Kevin Hart has turned his attention to acting in recent times, with roles alongside Will Ferrell in getting Hard and in the remake of the 90s classic Jumanji. With fingers in so many pies, it’s a wonder that he has any time to relax, but one of his favourite pastimes appears to be poker.

Hart took part in the same PokerStars Championship Main Event as Aaron Paul, enjoying rather less success, and also turned out at one in Monte Carlo. He is also known to attend games at Instagram legend Dan Bilzerian’s home, where you can imagine the atmosphere being a touch more laid back than in official tournament play.

Martin Amis

The novelist Martin Amis famously wrote a book called Money, and so perhaps it’s no surprise that he would develop a love of poker. He has appeared in WSOP events and the flagship Late Night Poker series on Channel 4 when the broadcaster became heavily involved in the game.

Amis is not the only writer with a passion for cards, either: James Bond creator Ian Fleming would often write 007 into card game scenarios in works such as Casino Royale, and also wrote the foreword for a book entitled The Education of a Poker Player.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

This pair of Hollywood titans tend to come as a double act, and so we’ll rank them as such here. The best of friends who can compare Oscars as and when they please, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck also share a passion for poker – they are the two most high-profile stars implicated in Molly’s Game.

While Molly Bloom confirmed that Damon only once played at one of the mega-bucks games that she hosted, Affleck was a more regular attendee. He was a “smart player who liked to limit his downside”, with his usual buy-in amount capped at a tiny $50,000. Such is Afflecks’s penchant for poker, he was banned from the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas for alleged card-counting back in 2014.

Michael Phelps

When he wasn’t in the swimming pool working on the technique that has led to him becoming the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, Michael Phelps has also become well known for his abilities at the poker table.

Often found donating his winnings to his charitable foundation, Phelps once finished inside the top ten of a No-Limit Hold’em contest at Caesars Palace in Vegas, pocketing a cheque for a cool $5,213.

Shane Warne

Another former sportsman with a passion for poker is Shane Warne. The Australian cricket legend has appeared in seven WSOP Main Event games, and earlier in 2018, featured in several Aussie Millions of contests, finishing fourth in one such event and pocketing a cool $33,320 for his troubles.

There’s even a page of the former leg-spinner’s website dedicated to his poker playing, where he crowbars several cricket-related puns into a biography of his poker career thus far.

Tobey Maguire

Of all the stars who feature in Molly’s Game, it’s arguably Tobey Maguire who comes out of it the worst. A “sore loser and worse tipper”, the former Spiderman star once allegedly told Bloom to bark like a seal for a $1,000 chip. There was also the time that he was forced to repay winnings after one of his opponents, convicted fraudster Bradley Ruderman, used funds generated by a Ponzi scheme to settle up with the actor.

Naturally, when you join in the fun with us at Bitcasino, it’s up to you how you play. From the comfort of your home and familiar surroundings, you’re not likely to get as stressed as Maguire and can just focus on the beautiful game, rather than the big personalities around the table.

Victoria Coren Mitchell

UK-based readers may recognise Victoria Coren Mitchell as the host of Only Connect and occasionally Have I Got News For You, while husband David Mitchell is known for his role as uptight Mark Corrigan in the Channel 4 comedy Peep Show. However, she is perhaps better known for her exploits on the poker table, where she has amassed career earnings of over £2m.

Victoria Mitchell, who was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2016, has triumphed in two European Poker Tour Main Events, with her biggest payday coming at EPT London in 2006 when she took home a staggering £500,000.

If you want to try to emulate your favourite celebrities on the poker table, remember that Bitcasino offers several poker games that bitcoin holders can play for free or for real crypto pay-outs. Why not join the star-studded crowd and get practising today. With the huge variety of games available to poker players and with the truly international scope of our online casino, you never know which celebrity might sit down in front of you.

Credits: The royal flush of celebrity poker players