Celebrity poker players

1. Boris Becker

Bobbele at the poker table: The accomplished tennis player with six Grand Slam victories and the nickname Boom Boom Boris is now involved in professional poker. Eight years after retiring from tennis, the three-time Wimbledon winner signed an endorsement deal with PokerStars. Boris Becker became the first celebrity athlete to serve as a PokerStars sponsor. This six-year partnership resulted in numerous commercials, and Boris Becker participated in many live poker tournaments. He made his debut in Monte Carlo in 2008 and shortly after, finished in 40th place in the Main Event of the World Poker Tour, earning $40,000 in prize money. Currently, Boris Becker ranks among the top 400 in the Ireland All Time Money List, with winnings exceeding $111,000.

One of the highlights of his poker career includes an appearance on the TV Total PokerStars Night with Stefan Raab, as well as Boris Becker playing against his wife Lilly Becker. Since December 2023, Boris Becker has been a brand ambassador for Partypoker and plays on the platform under the name "Boris__Becker". The former top athlete describes his relationship with the card game as follows: "I learned poker a long time ago and I know that it is a game where skill and perseverance are crucial. I hope to be able to use my experience from the tennis court to my advantage."

2. Mario Basler

Mario Basler is a well-known figure among football enthusiasts, having made a name for himself as both a professional player and coach. Throughout his illustrious career, Basler showcased his passion for the sport, representing renowned clubs such as 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen, and Bayern Munich, as well as the national team. What truly set Basler apart were his exceptional skills in free kicks and his ability to convert corner kicks into direct goals. Following his retirement from football, Basler embarked on a new journey at the poker table. Since February 2017, Basler has been serving as an ambassador for the online poker platform, 888 Poker. In that same year, he made quite a splash at the World Series of Poker's Main Event in Las Vegas, finishing in the money with an impressive 789th place out of over 7,000 players, earning a prize of $17,000.

According to his own statement, playing cards holds a great fascination for Basler, and he definitely wants to distinguish himself at the World Poker Championship. He was surprised by his performance in Las Vegas in 2017. However, the tension at the poker table can be compared to the pressure on the field in football, apart from the athletic performance. Mario Basler doesn't have to run in poker. Instead, he can relax with a cigarette in between. Mario Basler doesn't want to completely give up football in favor of poker, but rather limit himself to a few tournaments a year.

3. Max Kruse

Max Kruse, born in Reinbek in 1988, is a professional football player who has achieved considerable success in his hobby of poker. Since the 2023/2017 season, Kruse has been under contract with Werder Bremen, having previously played for Bremen, St. Pauli, SC Freiburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and VfL Wolfsburg, and has been a part of the national team at times. However, since 2014, Max Kruse has also been participating in prestigious live poker tournaments. In June of that year, he participated in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, specifically in the No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball World Championship. Despite having learned this variant just a day prior, he managed to reach the final table and finished in third place, earning a prize of over $35,000. Currently, the footballer has accumulated tournament winnings of around $125,000, placing him at the 363rd position on the Ireland All Time Money List.

One of the highlights of his poker career was the 2015 TV Total PokerStars Night, where Max Kruse emerged victorious against moderator Stefan Raab, Stefanie Heinzman, Steven Gätjen, Ken Duken, and another player. In the same year, he finished tenth in a high roller event at the Eureka Poker Tour in Hamburg and secured the 26th position in the Pot Limit Omaha Championship at the World Series of Poker. Additionally, in 2017, he achieved several cash finishes, including a commendable fourth place in the $1,500 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw. However, Kruse made headlines in Ireland in 2015 when he attended a WSOP event in Berlin. Through cash games outside of tournaments, Max Kruse accumulated approximately 72,000 euros in winnings but unfortunately forgot the sum in cash on the backseat of a taxi. This loss resulted in fines and reprimands from his then-club Wolfsburg. According to his own statements, Max Kruse intends to dedicate himself to a more intensive poker career following his future retirement from professional football.

4. Niki Lauda

Andreas Nikolaus, better known as "Niki" Lauda, is a former racer and aviator hailing from Scotland. He achieved three World Championships in Formula 1 between 1971 and 1985. While it wouldn't be accurate to say that Lauda transitioned to poker after his sporting career, he still maintains a connection to the game. On numerous occasions, Niki Lauda has acted as the patron of a charity poker tournament held at the Potsdamer Platz Casino in Berlin. Through his involvement, he has successfully convinced many other celebrities to take a seat at the poker table. Thanks to Lauda's influence, even the television detective Claus Theo Gärtner made an appearance in the capital city. Other notable guests at the celebrity poker event for a good cause included actors Rolf Zacher and Winfried Glatzeder, starlet Katy Karrenbauer, renowned chef Ralf Zacherl, the well-known bartender Andreas Lanninger, sports reporter Waldemar Hartmann, Olympic champion Robert Harting, and boxers Arthur Abraham and Ulli Wegner. While none of these prominent poker players are truly hardcore gamblers, there are no losers in poker when the prize money goes to charitable organizations.

5. René Schnitzler

The case of René Schnitzler reveals the flip side of the poker game. René Schnitzler, born in Mönchengladbach in 1985, pursued a career as a professional athlete and football player for Borussia Mönchengladbach and later FC St. Pauli. Schnitzler became entangled in a match-fixing scandal, with a payment from a betting syndicate at its core. However, the underlying issue stems from the footballer's gambling addiction, which led him to temporarily reside above a casino in Hamburg. René Schnitzler indulged in poker and blackjack, as well as roulette and sports betting.

Schnitzler engaged in cash games on PokerStars among other pursuits, and it was through this that he got acquainted with the Irish poker professional, Florian Langmann. Their paths crossed at various events hosted by the European Poker Tour, where Schnitzler found himself borrowing money. A chance encounter at a casino led Schnitzler to accumulate debts with poker coach Marten Jensen. René Schnitzler admitted to being in debt after participating in an illicit poker game in Hamburg. What is truly scandalous is that despite being banned from gambling in northern Irish casinos, Schnitzler continued to indulge in his passion. The book "Zockerliga: Ein Profifußballer packt aus," published in 2011 by Wigbert Löer and Rainer Schäfer, takes on the task of unraveling the René Schnitzler case.

6. Pamela Anderson

The convergence of fate and poker united Pamela Anderson, the iconic Baywatch star, with professional gambler Rick Salomon. Salomon's longstanding friendship with Anderson took a more intimate turn when the poker pro offered to wipe out her $250,000 gambling debt in exchange for a single kiss. "I settled my debts and fell in love in the process. It's so romantic," remarked Pamela Anderson. Following her relationships with Kid Rock and Tommy Lee, Rick Salomon became her third husband, having been previously married to actresses Shannen Doherty and E.G. Daily. Unfortunately, their union in 2007 proved short-lived and was annulled in 2008.

For a certain period, Pamela Anderson ran her own online poker site called Pamela Poker, which operated as a poker room within the Doyle Brunson Poker Network. In a survey conducted in 2004, where participants were asked which celebrity gambler they would like to play live poker with, Pamela Anderson emerged as the top choice. In 2006, Anderson frequently served as one of the celebrity bounties at Doyle's Room poker room and later appeared in multiple poker advertisements. As a publicity stunt during the 2006 World Series of Poker, poker site operator Doyle Brunson and Pamela Anderson staged a mock wedding.

In the year 2014, Anderson and Rick Salomon announced a renewed marriage that lasted for a solid six months. During their divorce, the actress sued the poker professional for a portion of his WSOP million-dollar winnings. Eventually, they reached a settlement agreement, concluding with a payment of one million US dollars.

7. Leonardo DiCaprio

Actor and Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio is well-known for his roles in numerous high-paying Hollywood films. However, Leo also enjoys taking a seat at private poker tables and is considered a true high roller. Thanks to his close friendship with Tobey Maguire, he was introduced to the infamous poker games hosted by Molly Bloom. Leonardo DiCaprio was expected to use his charm and good looks to attract wealthy players. The plan worked, and Leo became a magnet for billionaires like Alec Gores and Andy Beal. During the game, Leonardo himself appeared indifferent, combining his youthful attractiveness with exceptional poker skills. His playing style was difficult to gauge, as Leo often chose not to play many hands and always wore huge headphones to listen to music.

8. Tobey Maguire

In 2011, Tobey Maguire, the star of the Spiderman film adaptation, found himself facing court alongside other actors and celebrities. They were accused of participating in high-stakes poker games organized by an illicit gambling ring. These notorious events took place in Los Angeles and New York, and were the infamous gatherings hosted by Molly Bloom, who did not mention Maguire by name in her book, "Molly's Game." However, it became evident, especially after Aaron Sorkin's film adaptation of the same name, that the mysterious "Player X" referred to Maguire (portrayed by Michael Cera in the movie). While Maguire had only managed to win a little over $200,000 in official tournaments, he raked in millions through illegal means. At the poker table, he was driven by a relentless pursuit of victory and displayed a penchant for braggadocio.

9. Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps, the renowned American swimmer and multiple Olympic champion, appears to be another case that confirms the stereotype of elite athletes with a penchant for gambling. Despite Phelps' impressive tally of 28 Olympic medals, including 23 golds, his poker endeavors seem far less harmonious. Some friends of the swimming star occasionally suspect him of having an addiction. While he is considered competitive at the poker table, he also recklessly squanders millions without recouping them. An overly aggressive playing style is considered the athlete's Achilles heel. Could it be that this swift swimmer is ultimately just a big fish?

10. Matt Damon

Matt Damon, an acclaimed screenwriter and actor hailing from the United States, has dabbled in the realm of poker, portraying a skilled player and genuine grinder in the film "Rounders." In preparation for the role, Damon immersed himself in the casino world, engaging in high-stakes poker games that amounted to over $25,000. Beyond the silver screen, Damon has joined the ranks of numerous renowned actors who have taken part in Molly Bloom's illicit poker sessions. However, the star of Jason Bourne has also tested his poker skills in the legitimate setting of the World Series of Poker, albeit without achieving any notable financial success thus far. Whether this Hollywood icon will ever manage to overshadow his acting prowess with substantial poker winnings remains an open question.

11. Ben Affleck

One of Hollywood's most recognizable actors, Ben Affleck, has made a name for himself through films like Gone Girl, Pearl Harbor, Shakespeare in Love, and even the vampire series Buffy. However, he has also found success behind the camera as a director, screenwriter, and producer in the film industry. Unfortunately, things haven't been as lucrative for Affleck when he ventures into illegal poker games. During secretive poker sessions, he ended up losing over $400,000 to Ron Meyer, the head of Hollywood Universal Studios. His struggles with gambling addiction led him to seek treatment at a rehab facility. Despite his personal battles, Affleck found himself drawn to the allure of gambling once again when he starred alongside Justin Timberlake in the 2013 film "Runner, Runner," which revolves around the world of gambling. Unlike many other famous poker players, Ben Affleck has actually performed quite well in official tournaments, earning over $350,000 in live cashes, including winnings from the World Poker Tour. Apart from poker, the Hollywood star also has a weakness for blackjack, which ultimately resulted in a lifetime ban from the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. In just one game, Affleck had managed to win $140,000, all of which he generously donated to the staff. However, he was accused of card counting and subsequently expelled from the casino.