Casino movies are a pretty big genre, guaranteed to pull the revenue in. Just think about the Ocean’s series and although not necessarily considered casino movies as such, the James Bond franchise. There’s something about the glitz, glamour and excitement of a casino that entices viewers and makes them popular choice for producers to transport to the silver screen.
You’ll find that some actors and actresses play the same, or similar roles over and over, and as a result of these roles, now have a love of casinos away from filming for the latest blockbuster.
It’s not just the big casinos of Sin City that entice celebrities, who knows if you’ll come across one under a pseudonym online If you fancy your luck, play here: https://games.paddypower.com/game/deal-or-no-deal-gfg. But who are these casino-loving actors? Read on to find out more about some of the most famous names and stories.
Ben Affleck
He’s starred in a number of casino movies, including Reindeer Games (2000) and Runner Runner (2013) but Ben Affleck is a big fan of casinos and his game of choice is Blackjack. He even took time to read up on learning the game and became a pretty decent player, eventually leading to reports that he was asked to leave not one, but two particular casinos as staff believed he was card counting.
He also quite likes a hand or two of poker and even won the 2004 California State Poker Championship, winning $350,000 and earning a seat at the World Poker Tour final tournament.
Tobey Maguire
Best known for his role as Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire is actually a pretty decent poker player, and it’s not surprising when you learn he has been trained by Daniel Negreanu (who’s won six World Series of Poker bracelets and was inducted in the Poker Hall of Fame in 2014). He took up tournament poker in 2004.
Maguire has earned three cash finishes in the World Series of Poker, even playing in 2007’s Main Event. He may have only finished 292nd, but he still won a pretty impressive $39,445. His antics at the table were well-documented in 2017 movie, Molly’s Game through the character Player X, who supposedly is an amalgamation of various celebrity poker players, but mainly Maguire.
Matt Damon
Another poker fan and this time, it’s Matt Damon who starred in Rounders (1998) and the Ocean’s trilogy. It was during filming for the former that Damon got a penchant for Texas Hold’em and he has competed in several WSOP events.
In 1998, Damon was knocked out on the first day of the WSOP Main Event, by professional player and winner of 10 bracelets, Doyle Brunson. He also participated in the 2010 Main Event, but once again, failed to make the money.
Bruce Willis
Die Hard star Bruce Willis loves the casino, whether he’s winning or losing, playing baccarat or craps, in Atlantic City or Vegas. One of the earlier stories about his escapades involves being spotted by a fan at the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Willis was at the casino after a gig with his band and he’s at the craps table. After buying-in for $5,000, he eventually ups his stake to $9,000. He cashes out early for $25,000. Another story of note is the time he won $500,000 in Atlantic City playing baccarat.