We’ve all seen them: celebrities who love to gamble. Whether it’s at the casino, on the poker table, or on the race track, these A-listers can’t resist a good game of chance. Some are more successful than others; some have even managed to turn gambling into a career.
But how do they do it? What strategies do they use to make sure they come out on top? In this blog post, we take a closer look at celebrity gamblers and their tactics for winning big. So if you’re ever feeling lucky, maybe you can borrow a page from their book!
Celebrities can afford to gamble because of the easy access to large sums of money. Taking a big bet on a single spin of the roulette wheel or a hand of poker is a truly thrilling experience.
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Casino visits are a favorite pastime for some high-profile gamblers. Some gamers become experts in their favorite pastimes. Some even succumb to addiction, which can bankrupt even the most popular celebrity.
Most famous actors and actresses in Hollywood — such as Ben Affleck and Tobey Maguire — have joined sports legends Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley in blowing through large sums of money on high-risk gambling games. The result has been massive debt for many of these celebrities.
Famous Celebrity Gamblers
Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire isn’t shy about discussing his penchant for online gambling. While competing in the World Series of Poker, Spiderman used strategies he learned from legendary poker pro-Daniel Negreanu.
The rumored $10 million in poker winnings that Maguire has accrued is fantastic. Because the star enjoys playing in underground games, it’s not a good thing When he won large sums of money from a player who was later convicted of tax, wire, and investment fraud, this resulted in legal issues. The star reportedly spent $80,000 resolving his legal issues.
Even though Leo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck, two well-known actors and avid gamblers, were reportedly involved in the games, they were spared the same legal troubles as Maguire. Prosecutors may have overlooked them because they didn’t garner enough attention.
Ben Affleck is a well-known actor
Speaking of Affleck, he won the 2004 California State Poker Championship while playing blackjack and poker as part of his hobby. “Runner, Runner,” a 2013 film starring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck, is a gambling drama. As a result of Nat Arem’s statistical analysis of thousands of games, the movie was able to shed light on widespread online poker cheating.
When Affleck was asked to avoid blackjack tables at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas because of suspicions that he was counting cards, it appeared that he was a compulsive gambler.
Card-counting is not only legal, but it’s also not considered cheating. On the other hand, casinos reserve the right to expel players at their discretion and are on the lookout for those who consistently win too much money at blackjack.
Affleck denies reports that he has a gambling problem, despite tabloid claims to the contrary.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is known for many things: being one of the greatest basketball players in history, creating epic shoes that transformed his career into a fashion empire, and even inspiring some questionable memes. However, few people know that he is also a Celebrity Gambler.
In February of 2017, MJ was spotted playing roulette at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida; while gambling is illegal for minors in the state, Jordan had no problems entering the casino to play some blackjack and roulette. He spent about three hours there and won $5,000 on roulette before leaving with his bodyguard and breaking up a fight involving an acquaintance of his.
MJ has been known to throw money around like it’s nothing; he once purchased 20 McDonald’s franchises just because he wanted some Filet-O-Fish sandwiches! Despite this, MJ plays Celebrity Gambler quite conservatively—he plays slowly and generally stays under the radar when playing.
MJ has been linked to Celebrity Gambling a few times in the past. In November of 2001, he was seen playing Celebrity Gambler in a casino in Canada, and when asked about Celebrity Gambler his publicist noted that Celebrity Gamblers have competed with MJ for years because he’s so famous. The publicist made sure to note that Celebrity Gambling is not something MJ does often—he just likes playing Celebrity Gambler every once in a while.
Charles Barkley is a basketball player in the NBA
Charles Barkley is another well-known sportsman who has turned to gamble. In comparison to his basketball career, the great power forward appears to have had a poor record in gambling. According to the NBA legend’s own admission in a 2007 ESPN interview, he has suffered legendary losses totaling more than $10 million.
Barkley, unlike Michael Jordan, admits to being a gambling addict. It took him losing $700,000 on Super Bowl wagers in one weekend to come to that conclusion, he claims. After a casino sued Barkley in 2008 for a $400,000 gambling debt, he vowed to stop gambling. He took a two-year sabbatical. Then it was time to return to the casino floor. Barkley is rumored to enjoy gambling on sporting events and playing blackjack.
In the past, he has tried to limit his bets, but he now claims to have lost $30 million. Barkley told ESPN in 2007 that no matter how many games he wins, “it ain’t much.” If I lose, it’s a lot.” That’s how one high-stakes gambler sees the big wins and losses.