At a poker table, everyone is the same. You can be a high-rolling casino legend or someone playing their first ever hand in a casino, but when the cards are dealt everyone is in the same boat.
Big stars have big bank balances, and they can leverage that power to push people out of the game. The celebrities on this list are well-known for making big stake plays in poker games and blackjack hands, both in physical casinos and when playing online.
US Basketball Legend Michael Jordan
This man is one of the most successful athletes in history, with a long sporting career that includes countless US national basketball championship wins and a stint playing professional baseball after retiring from playing hoops.
He is a casino legend as well as a basketball one, playing huge hands in poker and once losing a million dollars on a single hand. These days he has calmed his stakes down and enjoys starting small and building a pot. When the pandemic hit he didn’t let that stop him, and became an avid player of online casinos.
When he is in South Africa, he may play at Jackpot Casino for a range of promotions that includes free spins on the slot machines. They have all the games he would expect from one of the biggest and best online casinos, including live streams of roulette, baccarat, and poker.
Hollywood Wunderkind Ben Affleck
This Hollywood A-lister has been a dedicated card player for a long time. His big break came in the mid-90s when he co-wrote and co-starred in the movie ‘Good Will Hunting’ with his friend and fellow card shark, Matt Damon. He had been playing cards, mostly poker, for a long time before that.
Working on movie sets around the world at all times of the day made Ben seek out online gaming so he could have some fun in between takes. Since then they have become his preferred way to play, only sitting at a physical poker table for big tournaments or playing with friends.
Many celebrities and sports stars prefer the privacy and anonymity of online casinos. They can play their game without being bothered or distracted by well-meaning fans. Playing online also lets you play from anywhere in the world at any time, something which comes in handy when you are trapped on location filming a movie.
Movie Megastar Matt Damon
It is hard to talk about Ben Affleck without mentioning Matt Damon. The connection between the two comes from before their fame, and they worked together as writers and actors to make their big break into Hollywood. Playing cards has been a part of their friendship since they were teenagers.
Matt turned to online casinos for similar reasons to his old friend. Playing high-stakes poker requires a lot of concentration, and it can be hard for a big celebrity to get the time and mental space they need in a public casino. Online play gives them privacy and time to contemplate their next move.
Mr Damon played the Talented Mr Ripley in the movie of the same name, and one of Matt’s talents is definitely poker playing. He has a high rate of success at the tables, both online and off, and does not have any big losses recorded against his name. He has enjoyed some big wins at Texas Hold-em tables and is known to spectate the large tournaments in person.
Big Game Player Charles Barkley
This NBA legend is also a gambling legend, known to place high-stakes bets on just about any sport. He has claimed he has spent more than $10 million at casinos across the world since his retirement from professional basketball in the year 2000.
Charles ‘Gnarls’ Barkley (the one-hit wonder band Gnarls Barkley took his nickname) has had to reign in his gambling habit in recent years, finding some of his own bets ‘crazy’ in retrospect. The fun and frolics of being a high-roller in a big casino were part of the attraction for him, so he turned to online gaming to control his spending.
Here he is just another gambler at the online tables, which makes a refreshing change for the poker and basketball legend. With less pressure from onlookers to make big bets, and more time to contemplate his options, Charles has become a better gambler playing online poker. He may not win as much playing lower stakes, but he certainly loses less money.
Superhero Star Tobey Maguire
Everyone’s favourite neighbourhood Spiderman (sorry Tom Holland) is a committed poker player who became a legend at the private tables in the clubs and hotels around Los Angeles. If you have watched the film Molly’s Game, or read the book, somewhere in there is a character based on Tobey.
He spent his younger days mooching around Beverley Hills and Sunset Drive with his friend Leonardo DiCaprio as a part of a group of young, affluent, and attractive actors who spent nights picking up girls and playing card games. Leo was never much of a card player, but Tobey has a natural talent for poker.
The private tables of Los Angeles, populated by wealthy Hollywood A-listers and Silicon Valley moguls, are where big stars play big stakes. Tobey lost a huge amount of money to fellow player Ben Affleck in a private game in 2004, rumoured to be more than $2 million. He took that on the chin and was back at a table the next night. Now older and wiser, he plays mostly online under a pseudonym.
Film Legend George Clooney
One of the biggest names in the movie business is also one of the biggest names in casinos. Before he was a household name he was a committed player and stardom did not slow him down.
Like Tobey Maguire, Clooney was a legend around the private poker tables of Los Angeles and was known to use the power of his big movie salaries to squeeze other players out of the action. He is a big-stakes player with a bank balance big enough to back it up.
He mostly plays online now since he became a husband and a father. Spending time with his twin daughters is now his main priority, but in between playtimes he will log on to an online casino and play a couple of hands. A good poker player never stops playing.
Uber Rapper 50 Cent
You can still find him in da club, but not with a bottle full of Bud; he’ll have a hand full of cards. ‘Fiddy’ has been playing cards since his youth and now uses the power of his immense wealth to dominate professional and private poker tables in LA, Vegas, and online.
His fame followed him to the tables and made playing in public more difficult, so he made the switch to online casinos for privacy and to enjoy the game just like many other celebrities on our list. He enjoys sports gambling as much as poker and blackjack and has made some huge wins off both boxing and pro-football.
He wagered $2 million on Floyd Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao and won. He also placed a big money bet on the New York Giants to beat the 49ers one season and won that too. It is possible that 50 Cent has made more money from poker and sports bets than he has from record sales and concerts.
Next time you are playing a few hands of poker at an online casino pay close attention to the usernames and handles of the other players. You could be sitting at a virtual card table next to a sports star or a big Hollywood player.
