Poker Celebrities – Tony Cascarino

Anthony Guy "Tony" Cascarino better known as Tony Cascarino was born on the 1st September 1962 in St Paul's Cray England. Tony Cascarino is a former association football player. His father was Italian and his mother English. Regardless of his background Tony Carscarino played 88 times for Ireland. His name was made whilst playing as a striker for a number of British and French football clubs. Tony Cascarino furthered his name by playing for the Republic of Ireland National Football Team.

Tony Cascarino has now retired from football. Tony has also presented on TalkSport radio and written for The Times and the Irish magazine Hot Press.

It is unknown how long Tony Cascarino has been playing poker for but his cashing started back in 2004 and to date he has cashed 12 times with two first place finishes. Tony Cascarino's poker tournament record is as follows:

• Nov 27, 2008 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour - Grand Final No Limit Hold'em 6th $54,795
• Nov 21, 2008 Caribbean Poker Classic 2008 Main Event - No Limit Hold'em 12th $4,400
• Sept 11, 2008 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Leg 7 (GUKPT) Main Event - No Limit Hold'em 1st $99,078
• Sep 29, 2007 European Poker Championships / EPT Event Season 4 Event #7 - EPT No Limit Hold'em Championship 14th $41,993
• Nov 27, 2006 Caribbean Poker Classic No Limit Hold'em 1st $28,400
• Nov 26, 2006 Caribbean Poker Classic No Limit Hold'em 2nd $4,800
• July 29, 2006 Bellagio Cup II Tournament No Limit Hold'em 20th $1,460
• Nov 29, 2005 Caribbean Poker Classic No Limit Hold'em 9th $2,820
• Oct 30, 2005 The Irish Winter Tournament - EPT/Pokerstars Season 2 No Limit Hold'em 17th $786
• Feb 19, 2005 The French Open - EPT/Pokerstars Season 1 No Limit Hold'em 7th $3,866
• Oct 17, 2004 Ladbrokes Poker Cruise No Limit Hold'em 11th $8,000
• Apr 10, 2004 Irish Open No Limit Hold'em 9th $4,469 

The sheer talent of Tony Cascarino meant that he transformed from a successful football player to a great poker player and therefore he features on our list of poker celebrities.

Poker Celebrities: Steve Davis

Steve Davis was born on the 22 August, 1957 in Plumstead, London. Steve Davis is an English professional snooker player who has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player. Steve's most well known for six World Championship wins during the 1980s. This winning roll in the the 1980s made Steve Davis the snooker world number one for seven years. He also reached eight world finals; while at the same time becoming the sport's first millionaire. Davis's dominance in the 1980s, produced a popular saying "that he was on television more often than the Prime Minister of the time".

Steve Davis has not won a major title since 1997. He continues to play snooker at a high level, which is very unusual in a player over 50 years of age. Steve Davis retained his place in the elite world top-16 players almost every year, being ranked no. 15 for the 2007/08 snooker season. However, poor results saw him drop out of the Top 16 for the 2008/09 season, in which he was ranked no. 29, and his official ranking for 2009/10 is no. 23. Davis is now an established television analyst, and occasional commentator, for BBC's snooker coverage.

To a lesser extent, Davis is also known as a nine-ball pool player, having achieved some notable success in the Mosconi Cup, and World Pool Championship competitions. In his early days, he also played billiards. Steve Davis is also known for his interest in the game of poker.

Steve Davis is a great poker player, with successful appearances at televised tournaments; one of these included an appearance at the final table of the 2003 Poker Million together with fellow snooker player Jimmy White. At the 2006 World Series of Poker, Davis finished 579th in the no limit Texas hold'em main event, winning $20,617. Steve Davis has had quite a few more cashes in his poker career including one in the World Series of poker in 2008. Steve finished in 389th place earning himself an almost triple up of his buy in and $28,950.00. He has also cashed at the Irish Poker Championships and the Poker Million Masters where he came respectfully 3rd and 5th.

Steve Davis who is one of the renowned poker celebrities is also known as  "The Nugget".

Poker Movies

With this article, I will talk about some of the most famous poker movies that we have watched, admired, thrilled and laughed about.

One of the oldest poker movies of all time was Bob Le Flambeur which was released in the year 1956 in this movie, Bob is a gambler residing in Paris, he is nearly broke due to a string of bad luck. He gets to know that Deauville Casino has unreal amounts of cash and is vulnerable in the early morning hours. He devises a complex plan to get his hands on the cash. He brings a safecracker and a young protégé on board. From here the things only get more complicated as Bob gets involved with a young lady. The police get news of this plan and Bob now has to tackle additional obstacles. It’s a thriller movie and a great piece of art work.

In the year 1965 The Cincinati Kid was released which created huge rounds and won a lot of international awards. Cincinnati Kid is a poker movie about a young, confident and ambitious poker player who wants to be the best in the country. Eric "The Kid" Stoner's finds himself challenging Lancey "The Man" Howard who is considered to be the best poker player in the country.

The movie is an adaptation of Richard Jessup's novel and is recommended for those who relish or at least play stud poker. This movie highlights machinations of the side-street gambling world. This poker movie is a compact package of drama, suspense and thrill. Stud poker is clearly at the forefront.

Rounders was released in 1998. This Matt Damon & Edward Norton starrer is about two friends who want to payoff a huge debt by playing poker which sets the stage for one of the best poker movies ever. Mike McDermott (Mat Damon) loses a bankroll of $30,000 in a hand of Texas Hold'em against the owner of an illegally run poker room that he often visits.Mike gives up cardsharping and returns to his law school to pursue a career in law. But he cannot stay away from the poker table when his buddy Les "Worm" Murphy (Edward Norten) is released from prison.

This movie is a cult classic. Poker players from all over the world can connect with this movie and relate to the characters of this movie. This poker movie is thought of as being the reason for the popularity of Texas Hold'em today. This movie created a huge hype and was a blockbuster in its category. The most recent blockbuster poker movie is 1 one which released in 2008 starring Ben Campbell is a math major at MIT. He has been accepted into Harvard Medical School. But there is one problem, he cannot afford $300,000 cost.

Micky Rosa, a professor spots his genius at math and invites Ben to join the blackjack team consisting of fellow students. The students are split into two groups and are taught all the tricks of the trade including card counting. Ben has to manage both sides of his life which is very strenuous for him. The rest of the movie revolves around how the team plays at the Vegas casinos and Ben's ultimate goal to get that 300,000.

Poker movies will always remain a contemporary subject to cinema and more of fine art works would be added in coming years

Poker Celebrities: Edward Giddens

Edward Simon Hunter Giddins better known as Edward Giddens was born 20 July 1971 in Eastbourne, Sussex. Edward is a former English cricketer who played in four tests from 1999 to 2000. Giddins played for four counties during his career Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire, and.

Edward Giddins' career was full of controversy. In 1996 he was sacked by Sussex because of drug offences and was banned from cricket for 18 months. Almost seven years later he was fined £5000, plus £1000 costs, and was banned from cricket for a further five years after being found guilty of placing a £7000 bet on his own side (at the time) Surrey, to lose their County Championship game.
He has recently turned to poker to earn his living and has appeared on the poker chat show Heads Up with Richard Herring to discuss this career. Edward Giddens has cashed in 16 big tournaments and fantabulous poker pots  to date with total winnings of $81,676.00. He has only had one first place finish.

Edward Giddens Poker Tournament Career Wins include the following:

• SpringFest No Limit Hold'em - 9th $2,456 Apr 11, 2007
• Sussex Masters No Limit Hold'em - 1st $18,747 Apr 5, 2007
• Sussex Masters No Limit Hold'em - 5th $1,968 Apr 4, 2007
• Dom Classics 2007 No Limit Hold'em - 6th $3,404 Jan 25, 2007
• Summer Shaker Event #1 - Pot Limit Hold'em - 2nd $3,149 Aug 14, 2006
• The Summer FestivalNo Limit Hold'em -3rd $6,580 May 23, 2006
• Celeb Poker Dublin Classic No Limit Hold'em - 4th $4,587 May 13, 2006
• Sussex Masters Pot Limit Hold'em - 2nd $3,665 Apr 10, 2006
• Midlands Medley Pot Limit Hold'em - 2nd $7,686 Feb 26, 2006
• Midlands Medley No Limit Hold'em - 3rd $11,811 Feb 22, 2006
• Christmas Cracker Tournament No Limit Hold'em - 2nd $5,812 Dec 13, 2005
• European Poker Championships No Limit Hold'em - 12th $656 Aug 7, 2005
• January Sales Pot Limit Hold'em - 10th $375 Jan 28, 2005
• Christmas Cracker Tournament No Limit Hold'em - 5th $6,749 Dec 4, 2004
• Southampton Poker Festival Pot Limit Hold'em - 10th $469 Nov 1, 2004
• Harbour Lights Poker Tournament Pot Limit Hold'em - 5th $3,562 Oct 29, 2004

It is unknown as to whether Edward plays or wins a lot of ring/cash games but it is assumed he does pretty well in them considering his placings in the above poker tournaments.

Poker Celebrities: Doyle Brunson

Doyle Brunson also known as Texas Dolly was born on August 10, 1933. Doyle is one of the famous poker celebrities a renowned American professional poker player who has played professionally for more than 50 years. One of the legendary Texas Road gamblers, Doyle Brunson is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively. He is also a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several highly influential books on poker including:

• Doyle Brunson's Super System: A Course in Power Poker, 1979
• Doyle Brunson's Super System II, 2004
• Poker Wisdom of a Champion, 2003 (formerly titled According to Doyle when published in 1984)
• Online Poker: Your Guide to Playing Online Poker Safely & Winning Money, 2005
• My 50 Most Memorable Hands, 2007
• According to Doyle, 2007

Doyle Brunson was the first poker player to earn 1 million dollars in poker tournaments and has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets throughout his career. He is tied with Johnny Chan for second all-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner,  one behind the poker brat; Phil Hellmuth's eleven total bracelets. Doyle Brunson is also one of only four players to have won the Main Event at the World Series of Poker multiple times, which he did in 1976 and 1977 back to back. He is also one of only two poker players (Bill Boyd the other) to have won bracelets at the WSOP in four consecutive years. Doyle Brunson was also the first of five players to win both the WSOP Main Event and a World Poker Tour title. In January 2006, Bluff Magazine voted Brunson the number 1 most influential force in the world of poker.

Doyle Brunson is also now famous for his online poker site Doyles Room. Doyle plays most weeks in the famous Doyles Room bounty tournament where knocking out him gains you extra cash. Knock out the other bounties and receive more.

As for Doyles winning total in the world of poker it is monstrous. Back when Doyle won the World Series of Poker back to back, payouts for winning the event were not as big as today. If the payouts for first place in the World Series were as big in 1976 and 1977 Doyle Brunson would definitely also hold the record for cashing in the main event.

Among other poker celebrities, Doyle Brunsons Tournament cashing s are beyond comprehension to some people. This year alone he has cashed 6 times. 50 pages would be needed to write a complete history of Doyles poker tournament cashing s. As quoted by the Hendon Mob "If ever a bio was unnecessary, Brunson would be the man". If we include the cash made from cash games; Doyle Brunson could well be the biggest ever poker winner, the god of poker as such.

Poker Celebrities : Anne Duke

 

Anne LaBarr Lederer-Duke better known as Annie Duke was born on September 13, 1965. Annie Duke is a professional poker player and also a book author. Annie won a bracelet in the 2004 World Series of Poker $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Event and was the winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, where she earned the Winner-Take-All prize of $2,000,000. At the time, this victory was the most money paid in a single event to a female poker player. That record was broken by Annette Obrestad during the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event.

Annie holds the women's record for most "in the money" finishes at the WSOP. Duke has won more than three million dollars in tournament play. Nowadays she refuses to play in women's only tournaments . As of 2009 Annie Dukes total live tournament winnings exceeded $3,600,000. Her 37 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,136,846 of those winnings.

Annie Duke became the first poker player to appear on The Colbert Report. During the show, she talked about her book How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at The World Series of Poker; and what it's like to be a woman in a male-dominated event. Annie Duke Takes on the World featuring Annie playing against amateur poker players was shown on Game Show Network (GSN) in 2006.

Other television appearances include Annie Dukes appearance as a member of the Mob (NBC) where she correctly answered every question and was the only celebrity who wasn't eliminated. She returned and was successful on another fe occasions before returning on February 9 2007 under "Last Man Standing" rules where the game continued until only one person remained. She survived to reach the final five of 100 contestants.

Annie Duke has appeared on NBC's Poker After Dark three times but has not won, Deal Or No Deal to support a contestant who, after taking a $341,000 deal from the bank with only two cases left, found her case number 13 had the $1,000,000.

Along with Phil Hellmuth Jr., Duke is a coach on Fox Sports Network's Best Damn Poker Show.

Lastly she appeared on the Donald Trump reality television show, Celebrity Apprentice. Throughout the season, each celebrity raised money for a charity of his or her choice. Duke raised more money for her charity (Refugees International) than any other contestant. Of the field of 16 competitors, Duke survived to compete in the finale against her primary rival throughout the show, Joan Rivers.

As for her poker game and cash play, it is assumed that Annie Duke is one hell of a money maker and probably the best female poker player the world has seen to date.

Poker Celebrities : Chevy Chase

Poker has its share of poker celebrities. Cornelius Crane Chase most commonly known as Chevy Chase is one of them. Chevy Chase is an American Emmy Award-winning comedian, writer, and television and film actor. Chevy Chase worked as a professional musician as well as quite a few other jobs before moving towards comedy and working with the National Lampoon.

Chase quickly became a key cast member of Saturday Night Live. His weekend update skit became more then popular on the show. Chevy Chase is well known for his role in four National Lampoon's Vacation films and his roles in other successful comedies such as the 1997 Vegas Vacation, 1980 film Caddyshack, Fletch in 1985, and The Three Amigos in 1986. Chevy Chase has also hosted the Academy Awards twice, he briefly hosted his own show (The Chevy Chase Show), and is a regular on the NBC comedy series Community. Off screen Chase is also finds his place amongst poker celebrities.Chase has extensive experience in playing poker, although he is not a professional poker player.

Chevy Chase has played with many other poker celebrities in celebrity poker showdowns in his poker career. He has also played in numerous charity events. Chevy Chase has a long history of playing high stakes poker against fellow Hollywood poker celebrities. He is a member of the exclusive Hollywood Gourmet Poker Club, founded by late night legend Johnny Carson. Other poker celebs whom are in the club include Steve Martin, Neil Simon, Carl Reiner, Martin Short, Barry Diller and producer David Chasman. They gather at the Hollywood Gourmet Poker Club once a month to eat and play.

Born into a well off family, Chevy Chase has not looked back. It seems this poker enthusiast plays for the fun, love, socialization and entertainment that poker brings along with his poker celebrities.  Chevy Chase has no major poker tournament cashing.

Poker Celebrities: Tobey Maguire

Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire; better known as Tobey Maguire was born on June 27th 1975. He is an American actor. He began his career in the 1980s, and has since become best known for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Spider-Man films. 

Tobey Maguire can also be included in the list of avid poker celebrities. It is known that he will occasionally come out and play a tournament or two but generally he plays cash. He has done quite well at tournaments ; cashing a number of times and actually winning a tournament with a cash prize of just a little less then $100,000. Tobey Maguire is a really strong poker player, and he is a more then a legitimate danger going deep in almost every poker tournament that he plays. 

Again, Tobey Maguire is a cash player in reality. The real money that he makes is in the private poker games that he holds in his Hollywood Hills mansion. This game is referred to as those that know of it as "Tobey's Game". Tobey Maguire's cash games involve some of the biggest poker celebrities in Hollywood. One actor once remarked "I looked around the table and everyone had a net worth of $50 million except for me." Indeed that is a huge amount of money being spread around.

At his home games is where Maguire shines. He is definitely known for playing his best game here; at his own game. It has been reported that Maguire has won millions of dollars in this game, with some estimating that Tobey Maguire has cleared as much as $10 million dollars playing “Tobey's Game”.

Tobey Maguire is one of the few poker celebrities who is often referred to by even the biggest poker pros as a "cash game specialist". From the information given above it's easy to see why. Tobey has played in the World Series of Poker multiple times, his best finish to date is 54th. He has been placed in the money at the WSOP 2 other times. It has been talked about that Tobey Maguire has received a few tips from Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu. He took down the Phil Helmuth Invitational in 2004.

If you are playing the World Series of Poker main event and Maguire gets seated at your table, watch out; you just might end up with no chips. Tobey Maguire is one of the very few Hollywood poker celebrities that indeed can play.

Poker Celebrities - Shannon Elizabeth

While goggling my way online I happened to come across some poker celebrities who have  made their name in the different fields such as Hollywood and also struck it big at the poker tables. Will be blogging about these poker celebrities over the week. Shannon Elizabeth better known as simply Shannon Elizabeth was born from a Syrian father and a mother of Irish, English, German and Cherokee ancestry. She was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Waco. In high school, she was very much interested in tennis and at one point even considered a professional tennis career. She worked as a model before she began a career in films.

Shannon Elizabeth's film career includes parts in the horror film Jack Frost, Dish Dogs and American Pie. American Pie was a major box office success. Shannon Elizabeth since the successor has appeared in several more Hollywood films, including Tomcats, Scary Movie, and lastly Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Shannon Elizabeth starred in the UPN series Cuts, Elizabeth also appeared in That 70's Show for a number of episodes.Elizabeth was one of the poker celebrities on an episode of NBC's Thank God You're Here. Shannon Elizabeth was also among the cast of the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Derek Hough.

When it comes to becoming a poker celebrities , Shannon Elizabeth is certainly one well known lady; although described by her as her “second career”. Shannon Elizabeth is however known as one of the leading celebrity poker players. Shannon Elizabeth visits Las Vegas up to three times each month to participate in poker games with the elite players of the U.S.

Shannon Elizabeth played in the Main Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker. She has also won a special tournament celebrating the opening of a new poker room at Caesars Palace hotel in January 2006. Here she beat 83 poker celebrities and poker professionals to win $55,000. She has also cashed four times in the World Series of Poker in 2006 and 2007, but unfortunately busted out of the Main Event early. She advanced to the semi-finals of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2007. The field consisting of the top poker professionals. Shannon Elizabeth lost to the champion of the event Paul Wasicka. Among the four opponents she defeated were three World Series of Poker multiple bracelet winners: Jeff Madsen, Humberto Brenes and Barry Greenstein (The Robin Hood of Poker).