9 Famous Celebrity Gambling Stories

There is no doubt that most (if not all) celebrities have fat bank accounts and they love living a lavish lifestyle. To be a celebrity means spending money like you manufacture it. Famous stars from way back in history have made headlines for spending large sums of money on luxury shoes, dresses, and jewelry to expensive cars.

However, it is very rare to find a celebrity going public about their involvement in any form of gambling. The truth is that most celebrities love gambling. In facts, some of them are suffering from addiction problems.

Our list comprises some of the most popular names, many of them will leave you dumbfounded as may not be expecting them to be professional gamblers. The number of female stars addicted to gambling has increased over the past few years and it is expected to go even higher.

Regardless of whether you are a celebrity or a mere gambler, the main goal is to win. Since they are used to the lifestyle of the rich and famous, they betting on high roller games, for instance, $500,000 hands of Blackjack or $100,000 on a mere college Tennis competition. Actually, their stakes are not for the faint-hearted. Most celebrities' leisure expenditure is far much higher than most of our annual income.

In consequence, some famous people have been involved in multi-billion scandals. Some stories have been hidden from the public but others have been leaked to newsrooms and social media forums.

On the other hand, some celebrities have set records and are considered ‘Gurus' at casino tables and cards. This has made a number of them to consider it as a second source of income.

As we all know the odds are always in favor of the casino, regardless of whether you are gambling in an online or land-based casino.

We have compiled 9 exclusive stories of some public figures you may know. These are names that have featured in the biggest gambling news headlines.

Ben Affleck

Besides being a renown gifted actor, Ben Affleck has other talents too. And since he is a movie star, gambling is part of his ‘free-time' activities. He is a great poker player as well as an adept card counter. He is popular for steering in the Hollywood blockbuster movie Batman v Superman. In one of the interview he opened up why he shifted to blackjack, "I Knew with blackjack that there is a way you can improve your odds, "said the actor. "And so, I started trying to learn. And then, I just got to a point in my life where I'm like, ‘if I'm going to do something, I'm going to try and do it very well."

Unfortunately, the sweet story turned sour when his addiction to gambling started to affect his family. Although Affleck denied the rumors, things became crystal when the couple divorced in 2015.

Floyd Mayweather

Mayweather is a world-famous boxer and a proud 50-0 boxing record holder. He spends much of high wealth on high roller sports betting and he is known for placing enormous wagers. Back in 2013, he won $5.9 million on NBA Playoffs between Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. However, the Champ denied the rumors of his $10 million loss in 2014 Super Bowl between Denver Broncos vs Seattle Seahawks. The Broncos lost to the Seahawks. His love for gambling and the fact that he is a high roller player has won him seats in VIP sections in reputable Vegas casinos. He went to an extent of trying to bet on himself in his match with Conor McGregor in 2017.

Michael Jordan

The famous 6-time NBA Champion has an interesting story when it comes to betting. Rumour has it that he could gamble right before playing in a game. He is one of the celebrities who has featured in numerous gambling stories. He went viral just before his first retirement in 1993, during the NBA Playoffs when The Bulls were playing against the New York Knicks. One of his close friend and fellow NBA star, Charles Barkley, said that Jordan once won a cool $300000 on a single golf putt! Another story by Earvin Johnson reveals that MJ and a group of his friends (Earvin, Barkley, and Scottie) would sleep for one hour at night and spend the rest of the hours playing poker. When MJ heads to the tables, he is usually accompanied by former athletes like our next guest on the list, Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods had a clean reputation for being one of the world's best golfer until he was hit with a sex scandal in 2009. With a net worth of $ 1 billion, he spends his time in Las Vegas casinos playing his favorite Blackjack game. There are numerous rumors of Woods losing thousands of millions at high roller games but redeeming it shortly after the tournament. After all, he has the money and he can lose or win without feeling a pinch.

Ray Romano

It is amazing how a real gambler was put to play the same a character in a popular TV comedy-drama series, ‘Men of a Certain Age'. Unfortunately, gambling took better of him until he had to seek assistance from Gambler's Anonymous. He responded positively and continued with his gambling but majorly in virtual bets. He is an active player the World Series of Poker and he is determined to winning big one of this fine days.

Tobey Maguire

In 2011, there was an underground poker ring involving some of Hollywood's to celebrated stars like Ben Affleck and our visitor, Tobey Maguire. The actor won $300,000 in illegal gambling. Sadly, his rival finance investor Bradley Ruderman did not have enough money to pay his debts. This is how the whole scandal reached the media. The skilled Texas Hold'Em gamer lost $5 million in the whole saga. The Spiderman star is portrayed in Player X as being a talented but means punter.

Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly is an Academy Award Nominee and she is commonly known as ‘The Queen of Poker.' She is a great actor and has featured movies like Bride of Chucky and Modern Family. The gorgeous movie character is displayed excellent skills when it comes to gambling. As a matter of fact, she was the win of the World Series of Poker Ladies bracelet in 2005. She also banked $158, 625 in a Ladies' No-Limit Texas Hold'Em which had 600 contestants. To crown it all, Jennifer appeared on the cover page of Card Player Magazine, thus, making her the queen of poker.

Michael Phelps

Whoever knew that the Olympic record holder, Michael Phelps gambles much of his free time? Well, this great diver and swimmer is not only a frequent gambler, but his close allies reported that he is an addict.

He has an admirable swimming history record with 23 Olympic medals, 13 gold medals in individual events and many more. He started playing Poker in 2011 when he purchased a house in Baltimore and shared it with a poker expert, Jeff Gross and he does it only for fun. His passion for poker was seen in 2016 Rio Olympics when he was spotted playing Crazy Pineapple on his smartphone beside a pool.

Charlie Sheen

If you ever enjoyed watching CBS show Two and a Half Men, then you know who Charlie is. Ever since his show was discontinued from airing, he has been struggling with addiction to a number of things like drugs, alcohol and now, gambling. In their divorce papers, Charlie's wife revealed that he was throwing away $200,000 weekly on sports betting. In fact, his gambling went to an extreme when he was busy on the sportsbook when his wife was undergoing a C-section in the hospital. Luckily, he has quit of forms of gambling and is busy with other activities.

Verdict

The above-mentioned celebrities consist of expert gamblers who have won hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past years. Big time winners like Floyd Mayweather, Jennifer Tilly, Tobey Maguire and Ben Affleck have made news headlines but celebs like Charlie Sheen have learned a lifetime lesson of gambling. We hope to see more celebrities hitting casino tables in the near future.