Famous Gamblers
While a weekend in Vegas or an evening in the casino on a cruise ship is fine, a visit to the Kentucky Derby for mint juleps and a little horse betting, and even the NCAA college football pool in which I participate this time every year is just fine, some people have serious gambling addictions. It’s serious because it’s a job to them; it’s not just in fun. Some people lose it all betting and gambling; their life savings, their homes, their families – everything. Many believe just the poor or ‘average’ man or woman is prone to gambling addictions, it’s not the case. Even some of the world’s wealthiest men and women, celebrities even, are addicted to gambling, and it costs them more than they are willing to admit. Read on to find out which of your favorite celebs are notorious gamblers that might border on the line of addictive.
Matt Damon
When you do a Google search for famous gamblers in history, you generally get the same list, mentioning Montague, Dostoevsky, the above mentioned Casanova, and a few others. If you want to get to the less popularly known gamblers, you have to do a bit of digging. A true renaissance man: professional adventurer, writer, librarian, law clerk, violinist, mathematician and businessman—You could probably guess, he was also a famous gambler through history. Giacomo Casanova was many things, but the two things that stayed constant throughout his life were womanizing and gambling. Other famous hustlers, con men ('confidence men'), bunko men, scammers and proposition gamblers include Frank Abagnale (forger), Sheldon Adelson (casino magnate worth $24 billion), Amarillo Slim (cards), P. Barnum (hoaxes), David Blaine (magician), Beau Brummell (gambler, dandy and clotheshorse), Jeanne Carmen (golf trick shot artist. We are home to the famous Gamblers Book Club, the worlds largest gambling bookstore! Choose from over 800 decks of cards for poker, magic, bridge, and any card game under the sun. A full line of Kem, Copaq, Bicycle, Ellusionist, Theory 11, Marvel superhero, sports team cards, specialty cards and so many choices, you will spend hours and hours.
What’s shocking about him is that he’s such a good guy. He’s such a family man. He likes to be with his wife and his daughters, and he likes to stay out of the press. So the fact that he was part of a multi-million dollar gambling ring that played in high-end hotels and private homes of the world’s wealthiest men and women is astounding. What’s even more astounding is that he was sued for it. What’s even more astounding is that this also involved two of his very famous friends, Toby Maguire and Ben Affleck, both of whom are on this list.
Tobey Maguire
Remember him from Spiderman? The soft-spoken, not very outgoing actor that seemed so sweet and innocent? Yes, he’s an addicted gambler. In fact, he was sued back in 2011 when he was caught participating in an illegal poker ring that runs in the multi-millions. His addictions have not been good for him, but he’s been very outspoken about them and his love of playing poker on many occasions.
Shannon Elizabeth
If you don’t recognize her name by itself, you definitely recognize her face from “American Pie”. She is such an avid poker player that there are rumors in Hollywood that she runs an illegal poker ring from her home. It’s not been proven but that’s how much she loves to gamble, and some people would consider that a bit of an issue if it really has caused her to begin an illegal gambling ring.
Charles Barkley
He will forever be remembered as one of the greatest NBA players of all time, and that’s why we love him. However, he’s admitted to the press that he has a gambling addiction. He spoke of how his addiction to betting and gambling has cost him more than $10 million to date. You’d think that would be enough to make him realize it is not a profitable adventure to stick with, but he’s still at it. It’s addictive.
Ray Romano
Everybody does love Raymond, but they do not love that he suffers from a serious gambling addiction. He once opened up and stated that the character he played in “Men of a Certain Age,” who was overcoming a gambling addiction was based on his own personal life struggles. No one would have guessed that he had such a gambling problem, but he does. Well, he did; it’s assumed that he’s overcome his issues or at least worked through the most difficult aspect.
Gladys Knight
She is one of the most famous songstresses in the world, and she was addicted to gambling. When she spoke of her addiction in her autobiography, many people were shocked. She doesn’t seem like the betting type, the gambling type, but she is, and she was. She battled her issues for more than 10 years, and she seeks help for her addictions regularly when temptation strikes.
Ben Affleck
Did you know that aside from the fact that his marriage is over and he’s facing allegations of cheating on soon-to-be ex-wife Jennifer Garner with the nanny, Ben Affleck also lived with a gambling addiction? He went to rehab back in 2001 for his gambling and alcohol addictions, and while we have to assume that he’s all right, we can’t be positive.
Michael Jordan
We have some athletes already on this list; some of them very good athletes that will be remembered in the very distant future. These are men whose names everyone knows and will never forget; yet they battle serious personal demons. Michael Jordan is the most famous NBA star of all time. And he has a gambling addiction. Did you know that when he retired back in the early 90s from the game, it was rumored that his retirement was a result of a serious gambling problem that he had back then? We don’t know what happened to him, how he overcame his issues and how he got back on track, but it’s been said his gambling issue was very serious.
Michael Phelps
He’s an Olympic gold medalist and a phenomenal swimmer, and many people fear that he has a gambling addiction. It’s not a big secret that he spends a great deal of time around a table betting, but rumor has it that his ‘fun’ hobby is now more of a dangerous addiction than anything else. Given his recent issues in the press, too, it might drive him to further lose himself in the process.
Charlie Sheen
You know, I’m going to be very honest here and state that if he has a gambling problem, it’s probably the least of his problems. This particular actor is one of the most crazed actors with some of the biggest personal issues I can recall. If he’s gambling, at least he’s not doing anything even more inappropriate. Not that we condone gambling. His ex-wife Denise Richards once told officials in court documents that Sheen spent – at that time – around $20,000 per week on sports bets.
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A casino is a place where anyone can try their luck, feel the taste of victory and greatness, win a huge amount of money, or get bitterness and resentment, losing everything. There are many stories about those who were lucky and turned from poor into rich men and vice versa. Here are those who were able to leave their mark on the history of gambling forever.
Joseph Jagger’s Team
In 1873, there were already many gambling houses operating. In one of them, Monte Carlo, a team of workers rested, with Joseph Jagger among them. He figured out an idea that in different places, the ball moves on the wheel differently. It is true because, in every gambling spot, the mechanics of external roulettes had slight differences.
The young worker decided to study the work of roulette thoroughly. For some time, he observed and collected data, and as a result, his efforts were crowned with success of winning $325,000. It is not known precisely how Joseph’s team managed to win, but nowadays, players at every casino tell this story to each other during the game.
Ron Harris
The programmer, working at Nevada State Gambling, believed that he could beat slot machines. He used his skills to take thousands of dollars at a casino in Las Vegas.
He also had an accomplice Reid Errol McNeill, and together, they won the $100,000 jackpot at Bally’s Atlantic City in New Jersey. As a professional casino player, Ron Harris knew that the casinos themselves did not know about his fraud so that he could make his fortune.
Dominic LoRiggio
Dominic LoRiggio is known for many nicknames, such as ‘Man with a Golden Hand’ and ‘Dominator’ that he earned over the years of shooting controlled by a dice game. It is a technique that helped him to get the shots he needed in the game.
He developed precise methods for controlling the game of dice, which included setting the dice in a certain way, grabbing and throwing them into the air so that they stayed together. This special technique allows the dice to land on the table gently.
Ida Summers
Ida was a woman who, at first glance, would never be caught in casino fraud, but in the 60s and 70s, she ran a casino, earning tens of thousands of dollars by using her cunning and volatility. She specialized in ‘manual fortune telling’ and ‘coolers’ at blackjack tables.
This technique included hiding a card that was already brought to the table or removed from the game. It will then be a deft hand move back to the table to benefit the player. Ida could carry out her movements effortlessly and unnoticed, and for a long time, she remained invincible.
Richard Marcus
Richard Marcus is one of the most successful players in the world, and he upgraded from being extremely poor to becoming a well-known gambling celebrity, thanks to his ideas. He named his best Savannah roulette strategy, which was to bet on chips with a low face value, such as three bets of $5 each, to avoid any attention. If Richard Marcus won, he would show excitement like a regular player. The dealer wondered why he was so happy with such a modest victory, and that is when Marcus stroke next.
Some well-known celebrities are regular visitors to both land-based gambling establishments and online casinos. If your goal is to become a famous poker player yourself, you may start anytime.
Famous Gamblers Las Vegas
Compared to land-based casinos, playing in an online casino is much more convenient and enjoyable, because you do not have to leave your cozy home. There are hundreds of online casinos, and making your choice is often a daunting task. According to OnlineCasinoGems, Captain Jack Casino provides one of the widest online opportunities for all players.
Doyle Brunson
Old Doyle was at the forefront of the WSOP. He won the World Cup twice (in 1976 and 1977), although at that time only a couple of dozen players participated in the tournament, and the winner took all the prize money. ‘In those years, I would never have believed that the Main Event WSOP would bring together thousands of participants. Then it seemed to us that if at least a hundred people play in the championship, it will be a success’, Brunson recalls with a smile.
According to Gambling News Magazine, even after forty years, Doyle is very good at the poker table. He won his last bracelet in 2005, and the last time he got into the WSOP Main Event prize area was 2013. In addition, Brunson was a regular member of poker television shows, where he showed some cool games. However, in 2018, this live poker legend, two-time world champion, and holder of ten WSOP championship bracelets, announced that he was completing his career as a tournament player.
Ben Affleck
Hollywood actor Ben Affleck is rightfully considered one of the most famous gamblers in the world. According to the New York Post, his incredible card-counting abilities first surfaced while playing blackjack at Las Vegas Hard Rock Casino. That night, the player was lucky to win 800 thousand dollars.
The next catchy game happened in 2014 at the Caesar Windsor Hotel and Casino in Ontario. This time, Affleck was accused of counting cards. A security officer approached him with a delicate offer to leave the table and try his luck in another game.
From a legal point of view, card counting is not a fraud. Each player who has a photographic memory has the right to calculate which cards left the game and which remained. However, owners of gambling houses who suffer significant losses from such ‘geniuses’ do not allow such an approach. Therefore, the actor still had to leave the place.
The ban on visiting the casino upset not only Affleck but also casino employees. After all, he once gave 145 thousand dollars to the workers of a gambling house where he won one night.
Toby Maguire
Like many other movie stars, Toby Maguire is a casino fan who has a weakness for high-stakes poker. According to Independent, in 2011, Toby Maguire was considered one of the best poker players. Soon, he was forced to say goodbye to the amount of $311,000, which he won from the organizer of the financial pyramid.
Edward Thorp
Famous Gamblers 2019
Edward Thorp is the ‘father’ of the card counting strategy and the author of the acclaimed book ‘Defeat the Dealer.’ The book describes a strategy for counting dozens and other cards.
Ken Aston
Ken Aston, a student of Thorp, became the first known blackjack player. Aston has performed on many television channels. He is also the author of several blackjack strategy books, including ‘Million Dollar Blackjack.’
Final Thoughts
Poker and gambling are usually that type of entertainment that can be perceived as a pleasant pastime, an additional income, and an opportunity to gain fame. These ten celebrities made their ways to leave a trail on the gambling records.
Famous Gamblers Of The Old West
Hence many players simply can’t resist poker and roulette, burning all their free time behind them only. If you want to become a decent poker player, the best way to boost your skills is to buy some chips and practice at home.