Celebrity Poker Players – James Wood – Ben Affleck – Tobey Maguire -Matt Damon – Shannon Elizabeth – Jennifer Tilly – Mimi Rogers | IXGAMES

  James Woods was born in Vernal, Utah in 1947 and has been rumored to have a brain the size of a planet. He studied political science at M.I.T, but was unable to graduate when he decided to start his acting career. Woods made his film debut in ‘The Visitors’ directed by Elia Kazan in 1972. His other acclaimed films include “The Onion Field” in 1979, “Ghosts of Mississippi”, “My Name is Bill W.”, “Citizen Cohn”, and “Casino”. Woods is serious about poker, he plays in major poker tournaments. He appeared in Bravo TV’s Celebrity Poker Showdown where he was the third person knocked out in tournament 2. He also endorses the online poker room, Hollywood Poker. Ben Affleck was born on 15 August 1972 in Berkeley, California. Before making it big in Hollywood, Affleck appeared in small feature films like Kevin Smith’s “Mallrats” (1995) and “Chasing Amy” (1997). A few years after, he and good friend, Matt Damon, won an Academy Award for the screenplay of Good Will Hunting. Since then Affleck has acted in box office successes such as “Shakespeare in Love” (1998), “Armageddon” (1998), and “Pearl Harbor” (2001). Affleck is also an accomplished poker player winning the California State Poker Championship in 2004 picking up $356,400. Tobey Maguire has starred in several significant films like The Wonder Boys and The Cider House Rules, and the excellent Seabiscuit (2003). But he’s best known for playing the read role in Spiderman movie. These days he excels in another area: poker. Maguire plays in major poker tournaments like the WPT and WSOP. And he usually finishes in the money, too. In October 2004, he won the Phil Hellmuth Invitational – No Limit Hold’em 2004 National Championship of Poker in Los Angeles with a first prize of $95,480. Andy Bellin told Phil Hellmuth, “This kid could be a legitimate top pro, and win many more of these things. It’s amazing how quickly he has picked up the game.” Even Hellmuth himself couldn’t help praising the star, “I’m proud of Tobey, but not just because he is a movie star, he said. It is wonderful to watch someone we all like (a nice, unassuming guy) work hard at his game and then knock off his first tournament.” Matt Damon started his acting career at the American Repertory Theatre and other theatre venues. His first film role was a small part in Mystic Pizza, made in 1988. He has since gone on to play a variety of important roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Dogma The Talented Mister Ripley, The Bourne Identity, Rounders and many more. Along with childhood buddy, Ben Affleck, he earned an Academy Award for the Good Will Hunting screenplay. Both Matt and Ben are poker players. Affleck won the Commerce Casino’s California State Poker Championship. Damon, who appeared in Rounders, has also played in major poker tournaments and has been trained by poker star, Phil Hellmuth. Shannon Elizabeth is best known for her role as the lustrous Nadia on the “American Pie” movie trilogy. Lately she’s been visible on major poker tournament. I just love playing poker and its even better to win for charity, Shannon says. In May 2005, she rocked the tables at GQ and Calvin Kleins 2nd Annual Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament. The actress ended up a respectable 6th in the tournament and donated her wínnings to the Peace Games. Jennifer Tilly is the newest celebrity making waves in the women’s poker circuit. She made history when she became the first Hollywood star to take home a World Series of Poker gold bracelet Ladies’ No Limit Hold’em event. She then broke records again by winning the invitational 2005 WPT Ladies night. Her WPT win made her the first woman to win both the major WPT and WSOP women’s events. For winning WPT Ladies Night III, held at the Bicycle Casino, Tilly earned herself the $25,000 buy-in to the Season 4 WPT World Championship. Tilly has appeared in over 70 films including “Bullets Over Broadway”, “Made in America”, “Bound”, “The Bride of Chucky”, and “Liar Liar”. Mimi Rogers is a Hollywood leading actress who has prominent film roles including the glamorous love interest in “Someone to Watch Over Me” (1987), the troubled swinger in “The Rapture” (1991), and a space-age mom in the sci-fi adventure “Lost In Space” (1998). To younger fans, she may be best known as Mrs. Kensington, the mother of superspy Vanessa Kensington played by Elizabeth Hurley in the Mike Nyers comedy, “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery”. A better than average poker player, she is on the board of directors of the World Poker Tour and competes in major tournaments including the WPT, WSOP, and has graced the Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo. Rogers is one of the more respected poker players among celebrities who recently swarmed the poker limelight.