{"id":9377,"date":"2018-07-02T16:49:08","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T16:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=9377"},"modified":"2018-07-02T17:39:36","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T17:39:36","slug":"five-of-the-best-celebrity-wsop-main-event-performances-in-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/five-of-the-best-celebrity-wsop-main-event-performances-in-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Of The Best Celebrity WSOP Main Event Performances In History"},"content":{"rendered":"
For poker players, the World Series of Poker Main Event<\/strong> has always been the ultimate event in which to star gaze. Just about every superstar in the poker world from Negreanu<\/strong> to Ivey<\/strong>, Hellmuth<\/strong> to Seidel<\/strong> pay their $10,000 in an effort to climb poker\u2019s Mount Everest and become the World Series of Poker Main Event champion.<\/p>\n However, it is not just the stars of the poker world who enjoy the challenge of battling through the throngs of players in an effort to win a multi-million-dollar payday. Hollywood heavyweights have flirted with poker for decades and massive movie stars like Matt Damon<\/strong>, Ben Affleck<\/strong>, Don Cheadle<\/strong>, Ray Romano<\/strong> and, of course, Jennifer Tilly<\/strong> have all been spotted in the field in years past.<\/p>\n It\u2019s true that many celebrities have tried and, frankly, most have failed when it comes to cashing in the Main Event. But there have been a few that have put their careers on hold for a few days and embraced the grind to wind up inside the money bubble.<\/p>\n Here we celebrate the celebrities that have mixed it up on the felt and accomplished some fantastic WSOP Main Event finishes.<\/p>\n Writer\/director\/actor Nick Cassavetes<\/strong> has had a love affair with poker for the better part of two decades. An avid bridge and gin player, and a co-writer of the screenplay for the Johnny Depp<\/strong> big screen movie Blow<\/em>, Cassavetes found his way into poker the same way an entire generation of players did: Chris Moneymaker<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In 2005, shortly after directing the iconic romance movie The Notebook<\/em>, Cassavetes was working on another project \u2013 making a deep run in the Main Event. With $7.5 million up top, the prize eventually won by a then unknown Aussie player named Joe Hachem<\/strong>, Cassavetes was taking time off his Hollywood grind to play what was reportedly his first ever tournament.<\/p>\n Although by his own admission, Cassavetes had not yet learned the finer points of the game, the deck smacked him in the face and the Entourage<\/em> actor finished in 93rd place for $77,710.<\/p>\n Cassavetes has continued to play after that run, appearing on PokerStars<\/strong>\u2019 The Big Game<\/em> and High Stakes Poker<\/em>, as well as reportedly being a regular in the high-stakes Hollywood community.<\/p>\n Actor\/comedian Kevin Pollak<\/strong>, known for his superior impression of Christopher Walken<\/strong>, has been a life-long poker player. However, it wasn\u2019t until he landed a role in Martin Scorsese<\/strong>\u2019s 1995 masterpiece Casino<\/em> that he really got bit by the poker bug. According to Pollack himself, during the course of the 20 week shoot, he got his true education in poker by taking a seat in various poker rooms around town during his considerable downtime.<\/p>\n Though hooked, it took until 2012 for Pollack to find the time to play his very first Main Event. He not only found his way into the event, but he became a centerpiece for ESPN\u2019s coverage, tangling on the televised feature table with some the Usual Suspects<\/em> like poker pros Chance Kornuth<\/strong> and Daniel Negreanu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Despite playing against some top-level talent, the Pollak show continued all the way into Day 5. Things were looking up when he found a nice spot to get his final chips in the center holding pocket queens. The only problem was he ran into Krill Rabtsov<\/strong> who also held pocket queens. What looked like it was going to be a chop, turned into Pollak\u2019s final hand as the board helped his opponent hit the unlikely flush. Pollak\u2019s dream run ended in 134th place for $52,718. It\u2019s his only recorded cash to date.<\/p>\n He even video blogged about his experience \u2014 way before vlogs were all the rage in poker.<\/p>\n New Players Get A Free Bonus At WSOP.com NJ<\/p>\n<\/div>\nNick Cassavetes<\/span><\/h2>\n
Kevin Pollak<\/span><\/h2>\n
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