Gambling – whether it is offline at a land-based casino or bookmakers – or online at sites like jackpotcity is a hugely popular activity around the world. The major reason for this is the excitement of waiting to see if the bet you have made will pay off and that is a thrill that even celebrities are not immune to. Of course, given their wealth, they are generally high rolling gamblers playing for large stakes and this article will identify a few of the more successful ones.
1. Ben Affleck
The Batman actor is well known for his passion for poker and he is none to shabby when it comes to the cards. When he is not directing award winning films like Argo or playing the Caped Crusader in the DC cinematic universe, Affleck spends a lot of time competing in poker tournaments – or select Hollywood poker games that you need $100,000 to get into. His biggest tournament win was the 2004 California State Poker Championship, and his overall winnings stand at $356,000.
2. Rafael Nadal
It is not only Hollywood movie stars who like to gamble for high stakes – as the tennis player Rafael Nadal proves. His glittering sporting career has brought him wins in all four of the Grand Slams – with three US Open wins, nine French Open wins, two Wimbledon wins and a single triumph in the Australian Open he has not been quite this successful at the poker table but did claim the first win of this sideline career
when he triumphed in a freeze-out tournament with a 10-Euro buy-in – scooping 15,200 Euros in the process.
3. Tobey Maguire
Maguire is most famous as an actor for the three films he made as Spiderman that were directed by Sam Raimi, and these days his exploits at the poker table are probably more notable than anything he is doing onscreen. His most impressive performance in a poker tournament was winning the 2004 Phil Hellmuth Invitational – which netted him $95,480. His total poker career winnings are pretty impressive as
he has banked a total of $218,858 from live tournament poker.
4. 50 Cent
Hip hop star 50 Cent is famous for his hit Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and for being the protégé of Eminem. He is also one of the most notable gamblers in the music business, although it is sports betting that he favours. He has been pretty successful at it too: winning a cool $1 million by betting on Floyd Mayweather to beat Oscar De La Hoya back in 2007, before claiming another $500,000 through a bet on the San Francisco Giants five years later.
These celebrity gamblers show that anyone can be successful at gambling if they learn how to play the game they are playing or do the research on the sports teams they are betting on
