For poker players, the World Series of Poker Main Event has always been the ultimate event in which to star gaze. Just about every superstar in the poker world from Negreanu to Ivey, Hellmuth to Seidel pay their $10,000 in an effort to climb poker's Mount Everest and become the World Series of Poker Main Event champion.
For Las Vegas businessman, WSOP is ‘the Super Bowl of massage' For years Cuban immigrant Rolando Coro has been winning big at the World Series of Poker. But he doesn't play cards. The 59-year-old.
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However, it is not just the stars of the poker world who enjoy the challenge of battling through the throngs of players in an effort to win a multi-million-dollar payday. Hollywood heavyweights have flirted with poker for decades and massive movie stars like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Don Cheadle, Ray Romano and, of course, Jennifer Tilly have all been spotted in the field in years past.
It's true that many celebrities have tried and, frankly, most have failed when it comes to cashing in the Main Event. But there have been a few that have put their careers on hold for a few days and embraced the grind to wind up inside the money bubble.
Here we celebrate the celebrities that have mixed it up on the felt and accomplished some fantastic WSOP Main Event finishes.
Nick Cassavetes
Writer/director/actor Nick Cassavetes has had a love affair with poker for the better part of two decades. An avid bridge and gin player, and a co-writer of the screenplay for the Johnny Depp big screen movie Blow, Cassavetes found his way into poker the same way an entire generation of players did: Chris Moneymaker.
In 2005, shortly after directing the iconic romance movie The Notebook, Cassavetes was working on another project – making a deep run in the Main Event. With $7.5 million up top, the prize eventually won by a then unknown Aussie player named Joe Hachem, Cassavetes was taking time off his Hollywood grind to play what was reportedly his first ever tournament.
Although by his own admission, Cassavetes had not yet learned the finer points of the game, the deck smacked him in the face and the Entourage actor finished in 93rd place for $77,710.
Cassavetes has continued to play after that run, appearing on PokerStars' The Big Game and High Stakes Poker, as well as reportedly being a regular in the high-stakes Hollywood community.
Kevin Pollak
Actor/comedian Kevin Pollak, known for his superior impression of Christopher Walken, has been a life-long poker player. However, it wasn't until he landed a role in Martin Scorsese's 1995 masterpiece Casino that he really got bit by the poker bug. According to Pollack himself, during the course of the 20 week shoot, he got his true education in poker by taking a seat in various poker rooms around town during his considerable downtime.
Though hooked, it took until 2012 for Pollack to find the time to play his very first Main Event. He not only found his way into the event, but he became a centerpiece for ESPN's coverage, tangling on the televised feature table with some the Usual Suspects like poker pros Chance Kornuth and Daniel Negreanu.
Despite playing against some top-level talent, the Pollak show continued all the way into Day 5. Things were looking up when he found a nice spot to get his final chips in the center holding pocket queens. The only problem was he ran into Krill Rabtsov who also held pocket queens. What looked like it was going to be a chop, turned into Pollak's final hand as the board helped his opponent hit the unlikely flush. Pollak's dream run ended in 134th place for $52,718. It's his only recorded cash to date.
He even video blogged about his experience — way before vlogs were all the rage in poker.
Sully Erna
Salvatore 'Sully' Erna probably looked like any other poker player in the field during the 2007 Main Event, having played in the Main Event for a few years prior. After all, it wasn't his look that he was famous for.
Erna is the gravel-voiced lead singer for heavy metal music veterans Godsmack, a band that has been nominated for four Grammys, earned three Billboard Top 200 number one albums and won the Rock Artist of the Year award at the 2001 Billboard Music awards.
Even though Godsmack's career was still in good standing, Erna appeared to be transitioning into taking his poker game pretty seriously. During his 2007 run, Erna declared that he was an avid poker player, felt like he had a pretty solid game with superior ability to use his reads on the felt. He was hoping to better his 2006 finish which brought him over $17,000. He did just that by grinding his way to 237th place for $45,422.
Months later, at during the 2007 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, the 'I Stand Alone' singer continued to show his chops by finishing second in the $5K event to JC Tran for over $307,000.
Tobey Maguire
One of the Hollywood Home Games most feared players, and the subject of Molly Bloom's ire, Tobey Maguire has a well-known thirst for the game of poker. Maguire, an A-list star with credits on his resume that include Pleasantville, Seabiscuit and, of course, the lead role in the original Spider-Man trilogy, had been playing poker for years.
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Reportedly the best grinder in any given game in Tinseltown, the calculating Maguire had accumulated a number of five-figure scores leading up to participating in the 2007 WSOP Main Event.
Just like Erna, it wasn't Maguire's first time in the Main Event, but it was his most successful. Erna and Maguire found themselves playing shoulder-to-shoulder, hoping to scale the pay ladders and go deep in the event. For Maguire though, he was unable to survive an encounter with Irish poker legend Donnacha O'Dea when Maguire's pocket kings clashed with O'Dea's pocket aces. The hand crippled the wall-crawler and eventually Maguire bowed out of the Main Event in 292nd for $39,445.
It was reported that Maguire received $15 million for Spider-Man 3 which came out in the same year.
Though hooked, it took until 2012 for Pollack to find the time to play his very first Main Event. He not only found his way into the event, but he became a centerpiece for ESPN's coverage, tangling on the televised feature table with some the Usual Suspects like poker pros Chance Kornuth and Daniel Negreanu.
Despite playing against some top-level talent, the Pollak show continued all the way into Day 5. Things were looking up when he found a nice spot to get his final chips in the center holding pocket queens. The only problem was he ran into Krill Rabtsov who also held pocket queens. What looked like it was going to be a chop, turned into Pollak's final hand as the board helped his opponent hit the unlikely flush. Pollak's dream run ended in 134th place for $52,718. It's his only recorded cash to date.
He even video blogged about his experience — way before vlogs were all the rage in poker.
Sully Erna
Salvatore 'Sully' Erna probably looked like any other poker player in the field during the 2007 Main Event, having played in the Main Event for a few years prior. After all, it wasn't his look that he was famous for.
Erna is the gravel-voiced lead singer for heavy metal music veterans Godsmack, a band that has been nominated for four Grammys, earned three Billboard Top 200 number one albums and won the Rock Artist of the Year award at the 2001 Billboard Music awards.
Even though Godsmack's career was still in good standing, Erna appeared to be transitioning into taking his poker game pretty seriously. During his 2007 run, Erna declared that he was an avid poker player, felt like he had a pretty solid game with superior ability to use his reads on the felt. He was hoping to better his 2006 finish which brought him over $17,000. He did just that by grinding his way to 237th place for $45,422.
Months later, at during the 2007 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, the 'I Stand Alone' singer continued to show his chops by finishing second in the $5K event to JC Tran for over $307,000.
Tobey Maguire
One of the Hollywood Home Games most feared players, and the subject of Molly Bloom's ire, Tobey Maguire has a well-known thirst for the game of poker. Maguire, an A-list star with credits on his resume that include Pleasantville, Seabiscuit and, of course, the lead role in the original Spider-Man trilogy, had been playing poker for years.
Wsop Celebrities Schedule
Wsop Celebrities Videos
Reportedly the best grinder in any given game in Tinseltown, the calculating Maguire had accumulated a number of five-figure scores leading up to participating in the 2007 WSOP Main Event.
Just like Erna, it wasn't Maguire's first time in the Main Event, but it was his most successful. Erna and Maguire found themselves playing shoulder-to-shoulder, hoping to scale the pay ladders and go deep in the event. For Maguire though, he was unable to survive an encounter with Irish poker legend Donnacha O'Dea when Maguire's pocket kings clashed with O'Dea's pocket aces. The hand crippled the wall-crawler and eventually Maguire bowed out of the Main Event in 292nd for $39,445.
It was reported that Maguire received $15 million for Spider-Man 3 which came out in the same year.
Bruce Buffer
The long-time voice of the UFC, Bruce Buffer has been a life-long poker player and public advocate of the game for well over a decade with results dating back to 2005. It wasn't until 2010 that the fiery announcer was able to put together a Main Event run of his own and fight his way into the money.
Buffer lasted into Day 4, eventually finishing in 478th place for a $27,519 payday. The WSOP capitalized on having his famous voice in the house, asking Buffer, to return during the final table of that year to help kick off the festivities by bellowing out the traditional starting phrase 'shuffle up and deal!'
The 2010 Main Event was the beginning of a heater for Buffer who reached a one-year deal to become the face of the now-defunct Luxor Poker Room. He then took down the 2010 Huster Casino Grand Slam of Poker Main Event for a career-high $75,000 score.
The World Series of Pokerbracelet is considered to be the most coveted prize a poker player can win, but in most years there have been competitive events that did not award a bracelet to the winner. While most of these events are charity events or are related to poker, a few are not.
Tournament of Champions[edit]
The World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions was an invitational freerollpoker event held from 2004–2006. Wins in this event do not count as official WSOP bracelets, but the winner receives a large trophy in the shape of the official World Series of Poker logo.
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The 2004 tournament involved ten players with the winner. Annie Duke receiving 2 million dollars. No other positions were paid.
The 2005 tournament was rife with controversy as prior to the event, Harrah's advertised that to qualify a player would need to win any World Series of Poker circuit events or by reaching the final table of the 2005 WSOP $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em championship event. Despite this qualification, under the pressure of the corporate sponsor Pepsi, Harra's Casino allowed Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, and Johnny Chan to compete. Mike Matusow won the million dollar prize. World Poker Tour commentator Mike Sexton won the million dollar prize in 2006, defeating a field of 27 players.
In 2010, the Tournament of Champions returned to the WSOP. The event was held on June 27, 2010. Huck Seed won the $500,000 first prize.
Ante Up for Africa[edit]
An annual celebrity event was changed in 2007, as it became a pro and celeb event called 'Ante Up for Africa', hosted by actor Don Cheadle and poker pro Annie Duke. The 2007 event attracted 167 celebrities and poker stars. The final two players, Dan Shak and Brandon Moran, agreed to share first place and donate all prize money to charities in Darfur.[1] Their actions set a precedent as the 2008 champions, John Hennigan and second-place finisher Michael DeGusta again donated 100% of their winnings to the charity.[2]Jeffrey Pollack, the WSOP commissioner, said, the WSOP was 'delighted to once again host Ante Up For Africa at the World Series of Poker'[2] Alex Bolotin won the third annual tournament defeating a final table that included Phil Gordon, Chris Ferguson, Rafe Furst, and Erik Seidel.
World Series of Rock Paper Scissors[edit]
Former Celebrity Poker Showdown host and ESPN.com columnist Phil Gordon has hosted an annual $500 World Series of Rock Paper Scissors event in conjunction with the World Series of Poker since 2005.[3] The winner of the WSORPS receives an entry into the WSOP Main Event. The event is an annual fundraiser for the 'Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation' via Gordon's charity Bad Beat on Cancer. Poker Super Star Annie Duke won the Second Annual World Series of Rock Paper Scissors.[4][5] The tournament is taped by ESPN and highlights are covered during 'The Nuts' section of ESPN's WSOP broadcast.[6][7][8] 2009 was the fifth year of the tournament.
All-In Energy Tournament[edit]
The All-In Energy Tournament was an invitational poker event at the 2008 WSOP for people who 1) purchased 16 cases of All-In Energy drink online, 2) purchased the most drinks during a designated time period, or 3) won an invitation via a sweepstake.[9] The event was officially held and recognized as All-In Energy Drink was an official sponsor of the WSOP.
Champion of Champions[edit]
Wsop Celebrates 50th Anniversary In Las Vegas
In 2009, a tournament for the WSOP Main Event Champions was introduced for the 40th Anniversary of the WSOP. This tournament was a freeroll wherein the winner won a Corvette and the 'Binion's Cup' named after the Binion Family who founded and ran the WSOP for decades. The event was won by 1983 WSOP Champion Tom McEvoy who defeated 2002 World Champion Robert Varkonyi heads-up to win the Binion's Cup.
Caesars Cup[edit]
The Caesars Cup is a poker tournament, inspired by golf's Ryder Cup, which pits some of the biggest names in poker from Europe and The Americas against each other in a series of heads-up and team-based poker matches across a single day. The contest is expected to be held annually, with the venue alternating between Europe and North America. The inaugural Caesars Cup took place in London on September 25, 2009, as part of the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE). Team Europe beat The Americas 4 to 1.[10]
Free Million Dollar Game[edit]
The Million Dollar Game is a tournament sponsored by the WSOPE corporate sponsor Betfair. For 18 weeks leading up to the 2009 WSOPE, Betfair will be holding a series of daily online tournaments. The winners of those events will then play to represent their 'region.' Prior to the kick off of the 2009 WSOPE, these representatives will compete for the million dollar winner takes all grand prize. WSOP Director of Marketing Ty Stewart said, 'Creating an event combining the online and offline poker worlds is sure to create even more excitement for WSOP Europe.'[11]
References[edit]
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- ^'ANTE UP FOR AFRICA TOURNAMENT RAISED OVER $700,000 FOR THE VICTIMS IN DARFUR'. Ante Up for Africa. Archived from the original on May 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- ^ ab'2nd ANNUAL ANTE UP FOR AFRICA POKER TOURNAMENT AT THE WSOP RAISES PUBLIC AWARENESS AND FUNDS TO HELP END THE CRISIS IN DARFUR'. Ante Up for Africa. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- ^Friess, Steven (2007-05-14). 'Las Vegas's latest game: Rock, paper, scissors'. NY Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- ^Levitt, Steven (2006-07-26). 'Annie Duke Wins 2nd Annual World Series of Poker's Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament (my research assistant gets knocked out in the first round)'. New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
- ^'Where's Annie?'. ESPN.com. 2006-08-05. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
- ^Caldwell, John (2005-06-15). 'The REAL championship at the World Series of Poker'. Poker News. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
- ^'WSOP Schedule Whiplash'. Poker Pages. 2005-06-14. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
- ^Craig, Michael. 'EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE: Roshambo - The Rematch'. Pokerworks. Archived from the original on 2009-08-05. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- ^Polson, Sarah (2008-07-01). '2008 WSOP Day 33: Do you have the energy?'. Pokerlisting. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- ^'Poker News | Current News & Features from Around the Poker World'. Pokerlistings. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
- ^'World Series of Poker Europe to Kick Off with FREE MILLION DOLLAR GAME'(PDF). Harrah's Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
