No prize for guessing that celebrities like to spend money – someone buys rare sport cars, others buy real estate, jewels, and fashionable clothes. But there are stars who adore adrenaline rush, and we are not talking about racing. This is in reference to gambling, including casinos, poker, sports betting, and many other ways to spend hard-earned money quickly and with pleasure. This means that aside from partying all night, living the good life, and dining in luxury restaurants, some celebrities are also known to gamble more than they should.
Like the run of mankind, a list of celebrities also became gamblers and can spend a yearly income of a mortal during one visit to a casino. If you are curious about who among the most popular personalities are fond of gambling, read on as we are giving you a list of the celebrities who love to gamble.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan, at one time, battled with gambling addictions. It was so severe that he was even banned from sports competitions and ignominiously displaced to the minor league. He’s known to be capable of dropping the equivalent of the gross domestic product or GDP of most African countries on the gaming table and shortly after winning it back.
Garic Harlamov
Garic Harlamov is a hilariously funny comedian who underwent a messy breakup from his wife of many years. His ex-wife has many unpleasant tales to tell about him. One of those was that he once happened to lose more than 5 million Russian Rubles playing online poker of all things.
Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire became a popular celebrity when he starred as Peter Parker in the Spider-Man movie. But did you know that he’s also a pro poker player? He learned his poker skills from a Canadian professional poker player named Daniel Negreanu, who won the World Series of Poker six times. Tobey is good at Texas Hold’em Poker, and it is believed that he won more than 10 million dollars in poker tournaments. His addiction to gambling and as well as alcohol goes way back to when he’s still a teenager. He had to go to the AA rehab at the age of 19. In 2011, he was charged for being part of an illicit gambling ring that involved millions of dollars.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the most popular celebrities, starring in many wonderful films, such as Titanic, The World of Wall Street, The Great Gatsby, and so much more. But aside from acting, he also loves playing poker. But rather than playing poker in registered casinos, he preferred going to bootleg ones. In fact, there was once an establishment that was raided, and Leonardo DiCaprio was one of the people who was detained.
Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck is known as an Academy Award-winning actor, screenwriter, and director. However, despite being a very popular celebrity, he was taken to rehab back in 2001 due to his gambling and alcohol addiction. He’s fond of playing blackjack and poker. He’s also good at it. In fact, in 2014, he won the California State Poker Championship. Among the many casino games, blackjack was his favorite. He was really good at winning hands to the extent that he was being banned from playing it at a casino in Las Vegas back in 2014. Aside from that, he was also seen discreetly participating in alley poker tournaments.
George Clooney
George Clooney is a very popular celebrity who starred in the blockbuster Ocean’s 11. The gambling action featured in that movie got him addicted. After that, he got his very own casino. But note that his casino was exclusively aimed at wealthy people. This means that if you do not have a healthy number of zeroes in your bank account, you are not allowed to go inside.
Victoria Bunya
Victoria Bunya is a pretty celebrity that stars in a popular Russian reality television show. Aside from being a celebrity, she is also a self-confessed gambling addict. She gambles every possible chance she gets via mobile apps.
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen is the leading actor in the comedy series Two and a Half Men. He is popular for his sense of humor and perfect comic timing. Aside from acting, he also has had an extensive addiction to gambling. Since he was paid about $1.8 million per episode, he has a lot of money to spend at luxurious casinos. Based on his ex-wife Denise Richards, he used to spend around $20,000 weekly on sports betting alone. According to her, most of the gambling losses of Charlie were through sports betting.
Ray Romano
Ray Romani is also an Emmy Award-winning actor that is popular for his roles in shows like Men of a Certain Age, Everybody Loves Raymond and Parenthood. In the show Men of a Certain Age, he plays the role of Joe Tranelli, who is fond of gambling. Ray feels a special similarity to this character because of his personal past with gambling. He likes to bet on sports, and he also takes part in the World Series of Poker each year.
50 Cent
50 Cent is a famous actor and rapper, and he’s also known for his extreme sports betting. In 2015, when Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines squared off against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. of the United States, he bet $2 million on Mayweather. When Mayweather won, so does 50 Cent. He also placed a bet of $500,000 on the championship between the Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants, where he also won, making him richer.
Derren Brown
Derren Brown is an English mentalist, author, and illusionist. However, before he became popular for his mind control magic, he was first a gambler. He was frequent in many casinos in London. But him being a professional gambler was short-lived because he was just too good. Also, casinos do not like him because he bets small amounts, and he never loses. In fact, casinos like the Broadway Plaza Casino in Birmingham banned him due to his mad skills.
Matt Damon
Matt Damon, just like his buddy Ben Affleck, is also a big gambler. He is usually seen attending casinos with Ben and plays Texas Hold’em with his best pal at luxury hotels in Las Vegas. Matt Damon seems to be almost as good a poker player in real life as the character he plays in the movie, Rounders.
Pamela Anderson
There are also female celebrities that have developed an interest in gambling, and one of those is Pamela Anderson. She’s a former Baywatch star and glamour model. But aside from that, she was also addicted to casino slots and poker. In fact, it is believed that she married Rick Salomon so he can help her settle her poker debt of $250,00 at a Las Vegas casino.
Victoria-Coren-Mitchel
Victoria is a well-known writer and anchor in the British panel shows. Is became popular due to her writing and presenting work. But aside from that, she’s also a poker player. In 2006, she was the first woman to win a European Poker Tour title. She also joined a number of poker tournaments where she won the main event of the European Poker Tour Sanremo in 2014. Currently, here total winnings stand around more than 2 million pounds. She also plays Texas Hold’em regularly at Victoria Casino in London.
Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis is a famous actor who is known in the casino world as an inspiration, most especially when it comes to the game of baccarat. He was able to win $500,000 in Atlantic City playing the James Bond-style table game. He’s the kind of gambler who likes to confront the odds and play until he wins. In 2017, he was also spotted rolling the dice at the Mayweather versus McGregor fight.
These are only a few stars who love to gamble. Celebrities always attract attention in casinos, so no wonder that today many stars prefer to take advantage of the things that offer anonymity, a wide range of video slots, card games, and tournaments. Perhaps the only star known at the moment who participated in the International Poker Tournaments is Rene Angelil. However, who knows how many celebrities take part in online tournaments?