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Everyone loves a little flutter - the thrill of the risk and the rush of the win. But have you ever looked up from the roulette table to see your favorite Hollywood megastar? Celebrities are not immune to the lure of the casino, and some of them are actually pretty good at gambling. Here are a few unlikely faces you may well spot the next time you're down at the casino...
1. Shannon Elizabeth
She’s best known for her role as the open-minded exchange student Nadia in American Pie and American Pie 2. But these days, the former model and actress earns her living from high stakes poker games. She has cashed in four times during the World Series of Poker, and in 2010 she represented Lebanon at the World Team event in Las Vegas. As her acting career has stalled, Shannon has become a regular on the Las Vegas poker scene and describes it as her “second career.”
2. Tobey Maguire
Since 2004, Spiderman star Tobey Maguire has been quietly honing his poker skills in high stakes games with Hollywood pals, such as Leonardo Di Caprio. According to professional poker player Phil Hellmuth, by 2007, Maguire had won more than $10 million from these ‘friendly’ games. He has racked up a number of impressive wins at the World Series of Poker and other pro tournaments.
3. Eva Longoria
Every year, the former Desperate Housewives star hosts a star-studded charity event called Eva’s Heroes Celebrity Casino Night. Guests pay $250 per head to mingle with TV stars and poker professionals, and all proceeds raised go towards the Eva’s Heroes charity, which helps young people with learning difficulties.
4. Jennifer Tilly
The squeaky-voiced actress is perhaps best known for her voice work (she plays Bonnie Swanson in Family Guy) and her affiliation with the Chucky series of films. However, she would describe her current profession as career gambler. After a series of high profile wins, she dramatically quit playing poker in 2008, before resuming her poker career just two years later. Her winnings are thought to be somewhere north of $1 million, and she is known as a skilled and thoughtful player.
5. Ben Affleck
Blackjack is Ben Affleck’s game of choice, and in 2001 he allegedly won $800,000 by playing three $20,000 hands simultaneously at a Vegas casino. But last April he hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, when he was barred from a series of casinos after being accused of counting cards. The following month, he was escorted out of an Ontario casino after he turned up looking “dishevelled and upset”. Affleck has since defended himself by claiming that his fame and wealth has stood in the way of his goal to become the best possible Blackjack player. Perhaps he would have been better off playing his favourite game from home instead. Australian online Casino Tropez doesn’t have a dress code, so he can be as disheveled as he likes.