Such a poker tour, barely just ended, in which participated only representatives of the high class, was the Sunflower Children 2nd annual Texas Hold’em, already at its second edition. All the winnings collected within the tour were donated to poor children in underdeveloped countries as medical, educational and nutrition supplies. Among those to sit at the green table there were Russell Simmons (a producer and agent of many artists among whom Jay-Z or Tupac Shakur), who was also one of the main sponsors of the event, the actors Michael Kelly, Ben Bailey, Ana Ortiz, Mark Indelico, Ma-linda Williams and David Zayas. They were joined by the professional swimmer Michael Phelps (a gold winner at the Beijing Olympics of 2008) and by the poker player Lee Childs, the model Lane Carlson and the beautiful Ta-tiana Kucharova: Miss World 2006.
It has already become a trend for stars to sit at poker tables. For charity purposes or simply out of pleasure.
tour had supermodels Helena Huodova and Roberta Armani as hosts. If many actors are known to have poker game as one of their hobbies, not that much is known about the models who left the catwalk to sit at the table and play.
Priscilla Meirelles, a highly appreciated model who posed for Playboy and hundreds of other magazines, has been playing poker for well over a year and says she is completely fascinated by it. In 2008 she even participated in the World Series of Poker.
Joanna Krupa, model (posed for Playboy, FHM, Inside Sport, Stuff etc) and actress (starred in Legally Blonde, Planet of The Apes, Scary Movie 4 etc.) has a genuine passion for poker and, moreover, is a spokesperson for Titan Poker.
Lacey Jones did much more than that. She went from a modeling career to one as a poker player. She then participated in several events, among which WSOP also, where, in 2005, she occupied one of the positions awarded with money within the event Ladies No Limit Hold’em.
More notorious for their presence in tabloids, rather than for the performances at poker tables, are Nicky and Paris Hilton. They are not just the loyal clients of a poker parlor, but also organizers of a tour, Nicky Hilton New Years Eve Poker Tournament, in which great
names of the poker world participate.
“THE SIXTH SENSE” AT THE POKER TABLE
And since we are talking about stars, it’s impossible not to remember Shannon Elizabeth from the comedy “American Pie”. She is a passionate poker player, participating in tours in Hollywood, Los Angeles or Las Vegas. She even participated in the WSOP and in 2005 she won the Nicky Hilton New Years Eve Poker Tournament held at Caesars Palace and placed sixth in the tour Calvin Klein’s 2nd Annual Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament. In 2007 she reached the 4th position in the tour NBC National Heads Up Championship. However, “the record” of participations in poker games belongs to Bruce Willis, a loyal client of the casinos in Las Vegas and Monte Carlo. He places hundreds of thousands of Euros worth of bets at poker, roulette and blackjack.
Ben Affleck is also a passionate poker player, participating annually in charity tours; in 2004 he even won one of the tours within the World Poker Tour event, worth $10,000.
Poker fashion has also hot gold of sportsmen. Christiano Vieri, Boris Becker, Tomas Brolin, Andrei Sevchenko are only a few of those who more and more often set foot in poker rooms. Yevgeny Kafelnikov, one of the greatest Russian tennis players (26 single titles and 27 double titles) took up professional poker once he withdrew from tennis. In 2004 he won the “Corona” Russian Poker Championship and in 2005, at the World Poker Tour, he was the great surprise of the competition. The next step will probably be the WSOP.
ARTE VIZUALE/MEDIA
