Top Celebrity Poker Players

Hollywood has taken to poker just like the rest of us. Actors like Jennifer Tilly, James Woods, Tobey Maguire and Ben Affleck have been quite successful at the poker table. But why is it just people from the film industry competing? Where are all the athletes and musicians? Yes, there are some that play, but there aren’t many that actually win anything. The fact is that actors and those who think they are actors (Paris Hilton, I’m looking at you) love poker. They make their living bluffing at the box office so why not at the felt? It also doesn’t hurt to have a bankroll equivalent to the GDP of Madagascar as well as months off at a time between films, or in Paris’ case, 12 months off each year.

But the question is, do actors really have an advantage over the average poker player because of their ability to bluff? Bodog Nation will look at several film and television actors of varying success and leave it for you to decide whether their winnings reflect an advantage due to acting skills or whether they’re just a bunch of donkeys with lots of time, money and a bit of luck.

Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly is a great place to start since not only has she proven herself as an actress with an Oscar nomination for Bullets Over Broadway, but she has had more success playing poker than any other celebrity.

On June 27, 2005, Tilly won a World Series of Poker bracelet and $158,625 for beating a field of 600 in the Ladies No-Limit Holdem event. A field of 600, at the WSOP no less, is a pretty impressive accomplishment. Was it luck? Perhaps. But Tilly hasn’t stopped there.

On September 1, 2005 she also won the World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational Tournament in Los Angeles earning $25,000. More recently she placed 15th in the 2006 Borgata Open WPT Championship Event, cashing for $52,380, bringing her lifetime poker earnings up to $249,942.

In 2006 she also appeared on both Celebrity Poker Showdown and Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker. While she did well with a third-place finish in CPS, she proved less successful in CAWCP when she was the second person eliminated from her table right after Rob Mariano from Survivor.

Many of the poker playing stars have been able to capitalize on their fame and fortune in order to get poker lessons from some of the best players in the business. Tilly is no exception since she is dating Phil Laak, a.k.a. the Unabomber.

Tilly has embraced the poker world (and the Unabomber). After winning her WSOP bracelet she stated, “This is better than an Oscar.” Which reflects her current attitude as she has continued to pursue poker at the expense of her acting career.

Ben Affleck

Love him or hate him, one thing is for sure, he’s been extremely successful as both an actor and a poker player. Perhaps you’ve recently seen Pearl Harbor or Gigli and you disagree with the acting part of the previous statement. Fair enough, but he certainly has made a lot of money. And as poker players, isn’t that how we are used to measuring success?

Upon discovering that he loved poker, Affleck did what any reasonable and wealthy person would do; he flew Amir Vahedi out to his house to give him poker lessons. Vahedi taught Affleck for a while before handing the reins off to Annie Duke. So arguably it wasn’t so much Affleck’s brilliant ability to act that led to his success at the felt so much as it was his brilliant ability to afford the best coaches around. Either way, Affleck did make a big score as a poker player.

In June 2004, Affleck won the $10,000 California State Poker Championship No Limit Hold'em tournament at the Commerce Casino, along with its $356,000 first prize. Sounds impressive. But many poker players have been quick to point out two important points: The field consisted of only 90 people and Affleck hasn’t made a decent finish in a tournament since then.

So you might think that Ben Affleck is neither a good poker player nor a good actor, but the fact remains that he’s been more successful at both than most people will ever be at either.

Tobey Maguire

Tobey Maguire as an actor has earned both respect and remuneration. While he is most famous for his portrayal in the blockbuster Spiderman series he has also given great performances in films like Wonder Boys and Seabiscuit.

Maguire burst onto the poker scene in 2004 when he beat a field of 123 players at Phil Hellmuth’s Poker Invitational, cashing for $95,480. Since then he’s played as much as his busy schedule has permitted and earned a total of $178,041.

As with Tilly and Affleck, Maguire is fortunate enough to have been tutored by a poker pro. Correction, make that a damn good poker pro; Daniel Negreanu.

Maguire allegedly hosts, “Tobey’s Game,” which is held at his home in the Hollywood Hills. Willie Garson, who played Stanford Blatch on Sex and the City, is a regular at the game. When asked about the game he was quoted as saying, “It's gotten very expensive. The other night I looked around the table and saw that everybody there was worth $50 million except me.”

James Woods

James Woods is an actor. James Woods is a poker player. His latest project is a TV show called Shark. Coincidence? I think not.

Woods has had a long and successful acting career with over 70 major motion pictures, television films and min-series. He has earned himself three Emmys, 10 Golden Globe nominations, and two Academy Award nominations for Salvador and Ghosts of Mississippi.

Woods scored 1580 on the SAT and earned himself a scholarship to MIT. He’s a smart guy who plays a lot of poker. His current lifetime earnings only sit at $51,100 with his biggest payout coming from the 2006 L.A. Poker Classic when he finished in 24th place, cashing for $39,859.

Will Woods start to make some serious cash at the poker table? He has potential, but only time will tell.

Mekhi Phifer

Mekhi arrived in Hollywood the hard way; he won the lead role in Spike Lee’s Clockers through an open casting call. He went on to appear in I Still Know What You Did Las Summer, Soul Food and 8 Mile. He’s now known to TV audiences as Dr. Gregory Pratt in the medical drama, ER. Phifer won season four of Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown.

Victoria Pratt

Victoria Pratt is a health nut turned actress with a growing interest in poker. She co-wrote a book on fitness and modeled for fitness magazines, which led to acting gigs in Xena: Warrior Princess, Mutant X and John Woo’s Once a Thief. She currently plays Andrea Battle in the TV show Day Break. Pratt learned to play poker from Lou Diamond Phillips so maybe her next step into poker should be finding a new mentor.

Brad Garret

Brad Garret is best known for his portrayal of Robert Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. He also hosted the 2006 Cardplayer of the Year Awards. Garret loves the spotlight and that doesn’t change a bit when he’s sitting at the poker table. Anyone who attended the 2006 WSOP most likely overheard him at one point or another as he ridiculed everyone from Doyle Brunson to Chris Moneymaker.

Bishop Brigante

With the moniker “The Gambling Man” and lyrics that reflect high roller risk taking and living large, the music of Bishop sparked the interest of fellow “Gambling Man” Founder of Bodog Entertainment, Calvin Ayre. With the launch of The Bodog Music label worldwide Calvin invited Bishop to join the roster. Creating Bodog’s first Hip Hop anthem, Bishop wrote the title track theme song Wild Card that was used for the TV show, Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker.

Dean Cain

Dean Cain is best known for his portrayal of Superman opposite Teri Hatcher in Lois and Clark. Cain played well at the 2006 WSOP but was eventually eliminated on the same day as his 40th birthday. He has dated both Brooke Shields and Pamela Anderson so even if he hasn’t gone deep in any tournaments, I think we can all agree that he’s a winner. Did you know? Mekhi Phifer, Victoria Pratt, Brad Garret, Bishop Brigante and Brad Garret all represented Team Bodog at the 2006 WSOP.

PHOTO: Jennifer Tilly at the 2006 World Series of Poker. (AP Photo)

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