Top Ten Celebrity Performances

Remember that scene in Ocean’s 11 when Brad Pitt’s character tries to teach a bunch of well known celebrities how to play poker? And they’re all terrible? That scene is a bit of homage towards the fact that celebrities constantly appear at poker tournaments. They may play well, but they’re not necessarily huge winners. Maybe it’s because they don’t need the money, or maybe they’re just not as experienced. But, whatever the reason, it’s rare for a celebrity to make breaking news in the poker world.

Over at PokerNews, however, they’ve decided to rate the top ten celebrity performances at poker tournaments. Celebrities who are thinking of breaking out in the poker world should take a few notes from the following people.

Rounding out the list at number 10 is Orel Hershiser, the major league pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won $75,000 and made it to the Quarterfinals at the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Maybe it was because he worked well under pressure?

9th place is shared by three celebrities, Sam Simon (TV producer), Tobey Maguire (actor), and Sully Erna (lead singer for the band Godsmack), who all made it big during the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event. Simon took 329th place, earning him $39,445; Maguire took 292nd place and $39,445 as well, and Erna slid in with 237th place and $45,422.

The 8th greatest performance goes to actor Telly Savalas who scored 21st place (and $8,080) during the 1992 World Series of Poker Main Event. Related, Gabe Kaplan takes 7th place with a 6th place win at the 1980 World Series of Poker Main Event.

A bit down the line, the 6th best celebrity performance was awarded to actress Shannon Elizabeth who is known for movies such as American Pie and Scary Movie. She was a semifinalist of the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, earning a whopping $125,000. The year previously she made her first major win in the poker scene, so in 2007, they were expecting her to go far.

5th place goes to the well known actor (and poker player) Ben Affleck who took 1st place (and $356,400) during the 2004 California State Poker Championship. It more than likely marked the first major tournament won by a celebrity since Gabe Kaplan’s in 1980’s Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker.

Academy Award nominee Jennifer Tilly has the 4th best celebrity performance, winning 1st place in the 2005 WSOP Ladies’ Event, No-Limit Hold’em. She won over 601 entrants and earned $158,335. She’s the only person on the list who holds a WSOP bracelet.

Gabe Kaplan comes in again at 3rd place when he placed 3rd at the 2004 World Poker Tour Mirage Poker Showdown, winning him a nice $256,519. At this point he had a tremendously long poker career and deserved the award. The founder of Cirque du Soleil has the 2nd best celebrity poker performance, coming in at number 2. He had a 4th place finish during the 2007 World Poker Tour Championship and earned $696,220.

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for. According to PokerNews, the best celebrity performance of all time goes to…

Gabe Kaplan (again!) for his 1st place win in the 1980 Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker. He won $190,000 and was the first major celebrity to make his name known in the poker world. Congratulations Kaplan!