From Beginner to Pro: The Journey of Celebrities in the World of Poker
While the game of poker can be quite entertaining and rewarding, it requires a particular level of perseverance, luck, and cunning. That’s why millions of casino players like to play poker and celebrities haven’t been left out either. Following to a Forbes article, https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2019/08/21/the-celebrity-poker-boom-how-poker-became-hollywoods-favorite-game/?sh=1e41e11f171b written by Hayley C. Cuccinello, here’s the journey of celebrities in the poker world from beginner to pro.
Jennifer Tilly
An American-Canadian actor, Jennifer Tilly is a celebrity poker player known for her comedic timing and distinctive voice. Tilly was introduced into the poker world by her father who was a poker player and gave her the WSOP video game. She subsequently learned the real poker game from her boyfriend after moving to Hollywood.
As stated at https://www.today.com/popculture/jennifer-tilly-wins-poker-tournament-wbna8395703, in June 2005, Tilly won $158,625 in the WSOP ladies No-limit Texas Hold’em tournament after beating 600 other competitors. Tilly followed up on this accomplishment in September 2005 after winning the third ladies’ invitational tournament in the World Poker Tour hosted at the Bell Gardens Bicycle Casino.
Throughout the course of her poker career, Tilly has gained over a million dollars in career earnings. She also won the WTP Ladies invitational tournament last year and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame class of 2022.
Tobey Maguire
If you trust spiderman as much as you trust https://www.legaluspokersites.com/reviews/everygame-poker/, then Tobey Maguire must be a familiar name. The spider-man star started playing professional poker in the early 2000s and has finished among the top players in several money events. Maguire has even been tutored by professional poker players like Daniel Negreanu.
Tobey Maguire participated in 2007, 2006, and 2005 WSOP main event championships aired on ESPN. Maguire was also among the many celebrities who featured in the Molly Bloom high stake poker games of the mid-2000s, playing alongside other celebrities like Ben Affleck and Leonardo Di Caprio.
Maguire received quite a lot of backlash during the Molly Bloom event after asking Bloom to bark for a $1000 poker chip. However, Bloom rejected his request and he topped her anyways.
Shannon Elizabeth
Shannon Elizabeth is best known for her contribution to the American Pier series featuring teen comedies. The Texas-born actress is now a household name in the poker world, after participating in several celebrity tournaments, including the Celebrity Poker Showdown and the Nicky Hamilton annual New Year’s Eve tournament.
As an only child, Shannon Elizabeth started playing poker at a young age, playing draw and stud poker games with her family back in Texas. However, it wasn’t until she established herself in Hollywood that the actress started playing Texas Hold’em.
Turned off by lack of the chance to draw or discard new cards, Elizabeth couldn’t warm up to Texas Hold’em until 2003 after befriending poker professional players Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari. Elizabeth then started honing her skills under the leadership of some of the best poker teachers.
With the Unabomber and the Magician as her guide, Shannon took poker in earnest and participated in home games across Los Angeles. Shannon also appeared on the Celebrity Poker Showdown and Calvin Klein’s Celebrity poker tournament.