Celebrities and Casino Culture: A-Listers Who Love To Gamble

Casino

Celebrities and Casino Culture: A-Listers Who Love To Gamble

Casino

A dealer puts a card on the table while a player holds a chip.

Celebrities and Casino Culture: A-Listers Who Love To Gamble

Casino

Five poker chip stacks lined up adjacently.

Online casino games are popular all over the world. According to statistics, over two billion people (26% of the world’s population) have participated in casino games and activities, and celebrities are certainly no exception.

Celebrities and gambling culture have had a long-standing relationship – after all, they both ooze glitz and glamor! From jackpot slots to poker and online roulette, celebrities have been known to try their luck at various casino games. This guide provides insight into some of the most famous celebrities who gamble, their favorite games and a few juicy scandals surrounding their casino visits.

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck is one of the best-known celebrities in the gambling world. The actor loves playing blackjack, in particular, and has been spotted at several high-stakes tables over the years. In 2014, he was even banned from playing at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas for allegedly counting cards. Despite this, Affleck has continued to enjoy the thrill of the casino and has reportedly won millions of dollars playing his go-to casino table game.

Along with blackjack, Affleck has participated in many poker tournaments, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and has been known to play alongside some of the biggest names in the game.

George Clooney

George Clooney is another famous celebrity who gambles. You can often spot the actor at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, where he spends most of his time playing poker and roulette.

Clooney has even hosted private poker games with his celebrity friends, including Matt Damon and Brad Pitt. Many of Clooney’s hosted games revolve around raising money for charity.

Matt Damon

A red stack of chips stands out among black poker chips.

Speaking of the Saving Private Ryan silver screen superstar, Matt Damon is another famous poker enthusiast. Like his close friend Ben Affleck, he has participated in several high-profile tournaments, including the WSOP. He also has a reputation for participating in underground celebrity poker games and was featured in a poker documentary called All In: The Poker Movie, released in 2009.

Damon’s passion for poker began during the filming of the movie Rounders, in which he played a skilled poker player named Mike McDermott. Damon spent several months studying the game and playing against professionals in preparation for the role.

Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly is another iconic poker enthusiast. The Bride of Chucky actress has won several WSOP bracelets, including one in the ladies’ no-limit Texas Hold’em tournament in 2005.

Tilly’s poker skills are so impressive that she has even been nicknamed “The Unabombshell” by her fellow players. She is known for her aggressive playing style and her ability to read her opponents. Along with poker, Tilly has also dabbled in other casino games, such as blackjack and craps.

Pamela Anderson

You know and love her from the 90s classic Baywatch, but did you know that Pamela Anderson is a regular at various Las Vegas casinos and has even had her own line of slot machines?

The slot machines featured images of Anderson and offered the chance to win big jackpots. Anderson promoted the machines herself at several casino events and even posed with them for promotional photos.

Aside from her love of jackpot slots, Anderson has also been known to enjoy playing other casino games, such as blackjack and poker. The actress’s keen interest in gambling may stem from her love of risk-taking and excitement. She can’t get enough of extreme sports, including skydiving and bungee jumping.

Daniel Craig

James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, is also a fan of traditional and online casino games. In fact, his portrayal of Bond in the 2006 film Casino Royale helped to popularize poker. Craig’s personal casino favorites? Roulette, poker and blackjack.

Since brushing up on his poker strategy and skills for his James Bond role, Craig has become an accomplished poker player in his own right and has even played in various WSOP events. In 2006, he won a charity tournament called “One for the Boys” in London, which raised money for cancer research.

Russell Crowe

Australian actor, Russell Crowe, is a celebrity who started out as a bingo caller in the 1980s before his big acting break. Unfortunately, the actor was fired from this job for rudeness and making up offensive bingo calls.

In the 2003 movie Mystery, Alaska, Crowe played a small-town hockey player who makes a bet against a New York Rangers team. The movie featured several scenes set in a casino, where Crowe’s character was shown playing blackjack and roulette.

Celebrities and Responsible Gambling

A person rests their head on a slot machine.

There are certainly many celebrities who gamble. Luckily, most of them know when to stop, but there are some who have struggled and continue to struggle with problem gambling.

For example, Charlie Sheen has admitted to spending millions of dollars on gambling and was once sued by a casino for allegedly not paying his debts. Similarly, Michael Jordan was once sued for $1.2 million in unpaid gambling debts.

Avoid problematic gambling behavior by always setting a bankroll, never “chasing your losses,” and seeking help if ever you’re concerned about your habits when playing online casino games.

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