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Celebrities
Actors and athletes who took a seat at the table. The stories behind the headlines, with the numbers checked.
32 readslast filed Sep 20
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PaddockJennifer Tilly: The Oscar Nominee Who Won a WSOP BraceletJennifer Tilly arrived in poker with Hollywood credentials. She left with something rarer: a genuine championship.August
- Jamie Gold's $12 Million WSOP Main Event Win ExplainedProfessional analysis of Jamie Gold's $12 Million WSOP Main Event Win Explained based on industry knowledge and player data.
- 50 Cent vs Floyd Mayweather: The Reading and Betting BeefProfessional analysis of 50 Cent vs Floyd Mayweather: The Reading and Betting Beef based on industry knowledge and player data.
- Casino 1995: How Scorsese Captured the Mob-Era Las VegasMartin Scorsese's Casino documented a specific era of Las Vegas: the transition from mob control to corporate control. The film is accurate in its details and revealing about how gambling changes when power changes hands.
- Stanley Ho's 40-Year Macau Gambling Monopoly ExplainedFrom 1962 to 2002, Stanley Ho controlled every casino in Macau. His monopoly was so complete it shaped the modern gambling industry. Here is how it happened and why it ended.
- Tobey Maguire's Underground Poker Nights in HollywoodIn the mid-2000s, Tobey Maguire presided over a private poker game that became legendary in Hollywood circles. What happened there reveals something about wealth, secrecy, and the nature of competitive play among the extraordinarily rich.
- Phil Ivey's Edge-Sorting Lawsuits: Crockfords and Borgata ExplainedPhil Ivey is one of the greatest poker players ever. He is also the man who tried to exploit the physical printing of casino cards. This is that story.
- Gus Hansen: The Great Dane's Wild Poker Style ExplainedGus Hansen turned poker math inside out. His unorthodox play style cost him millions in bad tournaments but made him a fortune in high-stakes cash games. The mechanism matters more than the mythology.
July
- Archie Karas Turning $50 Into $40 Million: A TimelineArchie Karas walked into a Las Vegas pool hall with fifty dollars. Three years later, he had forty million. Then he lost it all. This is the story of the greatest run in gambling history.
- Shannon Elizabeth: From American Pie Star to WSOP RegularShannon Elizabeth was an actress. Then she became a professional poker player and kept her name in the game for twenty years. This is the story of that transition and what it cost.
- Elvis Presley at the International: When the King Played VegasJuly 31, 1969. The International Hotel. A 2,000-seat theater. Elvis stepped onstage and changed what a Vegas residency could be. Here's the story of that opening.
June
- 21: The Movie vs the True MIT Blackjack Team StoryThe movie "21" was entertaining fiction. The real MIT Blackjack Team story is better. Here's how the two differ and what actually happened.
- The Rise of 3D and Cinematic SlotsSlots used to be mechanical boxes with spinning reels. Now they're cinema. The change happened quietly. Some operators led it. Others followed.
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