Considering that gambling entertainment always requires money investments, it comes as no surprise that numerous famous people devote time to this risky hobby regularly. Whereas many celebrities visit casinos and bet just for fun, some of them take gambling much more seriously and achieve impressive results pretty often.
In this article, we will tell you about 10 superstars who are known not only for their achievements in various areas but also for their gambling hobbies. You will find out which games these celebrities prefer and how much money they are willing to spend on them.
Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley is a living basketball legend who has proven himself on the NBA court numerous times. He managed to earn over $40 million during his sports career. After leaving the league, he became an analyst for Inside the NBA, which is the most-watched basketball show in the US. Barkley openly admits his love for gambling and talks about some crazy sports betting he has done. And although his gambling hobby surely brings him massive winnings, he does not hide the fact that his casino visits cost him more than $10 million.
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt joined the gambling community by accident. In 2001, he got a role in the Ocean’s 11 movie, which became a massive hit. As you may know, the plot of the film revolved around a daring robbery of a casino, and this fact became fateful for the actor. In order to understand the gambling world, Brad began to try his luck at various popular games, be it poker, slot machines, or blackjack. After filming was completed, the passion for this risky hobby did not leave Pitt. Therefore, he began to visit casinos around the world regularly.
Jennifer Tilly
Although most of us know Jennifer as a successful actress and screenwriter, there is another side to her life. The thing is that Tilly is a talented poker player who has reached a semi-professional level in this card game. The main achievement of her poker career was participation in the World Series of Poker in 2005. Not only did she compete in a prestigious tournament but she also won a gold bracelet and just over $158,000 in the No-Limit Texas Hold’em.
Ben Affleck
Ben is another famous poker player who has managed to achieve some success in this card game. Over the course of his gambling career, Affleck often joined amateur and professional poker tournaments. According to independent sources, his total winnings are about $1 million. Due to the global pandemic, the famous actor, screenwriter, and director is no longer participating in real competitions. Instead, he switched to online poker. And some outlets claim that Ben lost over $600,000 online in 2020 alone.
50 Cent
Even though most fans know 50 Cent for his legendary rap tracks, he is also an incredibly vivid personality in the gambling world. When Floyd Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao in the most anticipated boxing match of the century, 50 Cent bet $2 million on Floyd to win and turned out to be right. On top of that, he also made half a million dollars with his bet on the NFC Championship game between the 49ers and New York Giants.
Paris Hilton
Recognized for her modeling career and scandalous social life, Paris Hilton surely knows a thing or two about gambling. She visits Las Vegas to have fun and try her luck at the most prestigious casinos in the world’s gambling capital regularly. One of these trips brought the blonde beauty over $30,000. In addition, she also won over $50,000 during one of her blackjack sessions.
Derren Brown
Known as an accomplished magician and mentalist, Brown is not shy about using his unique skills during gambling sessions. In fact, he has had so many poker winnings at UK casinos that some of them no longer give him access to the card tables. Besides poker, Derren also uses his professional talents to play blackjack. Thanks to this, the player leaves gambling establishments with significant winnings in most cases.
Matt Damon
Considering that Matt and Ben Affleck are best friends, it comes as no surprise that Damon is also a passionate Hollywood gambler. Typically, Matt devotes his time to poker tournaments and blackjack. Similarly to Brad Pitt, Damon fell in love with gambling thanks to one of his early successful roles in the Rounders movie. The thing is Johnny Chan who is a legend in the professional poker scene helped Matt prepare for the role. Damon listened to every word of the poker guru carefully and turned into an amazingly skilled player.
Tobey Maguire
Tobey may seem like an easygoing guy everyone knows as the friendly Spider-Man, but he is also really passionate about poker. The famous actor has managed to earn tens of millions of dollars in his career, and this fortune allows him to participate in the most extravagant closed poker tournaments. As a rule, other superstars attend such Hollywood events. For example, Tobey played with Ben Affleck in 2004, and this battle ended in a pretty serious cash loss for Maguire.
George Clooney
George Clooney has also competed in the closed Hollywood poker tournaments numerous times thanks to his friendship with Tobey Maguire. However, unlike Tobey, Clooney has been into poker almost all his life. The actor’s love for gambling led him to decide to open his own casino. This establishment was to be located in Las Vegas. However, the project was halted at the planning stage, even though Clooney had already invested several million dollars in it.
Sometimes we tend to forget that celebrities are ordinary people who like to take risks and have fun, just like us. So when you will be participating in the next online poker tournament or visiting some land-based casino, you have decent chances to play against some superstars of our generation.
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