Look Who's Playing Poker Now

It's not just you and your cigar smoking buddies that play poker any more - big name celebrities are also playing. Not only are they playing, but they're responsible for spearheading the revitalization of poker, by showing up to big time poker tournaments and wearing logo laden gear from big name online poker sites. America's fascination with Hollywood glamour has mutated poker from niche hobby to a world-wide obsession.

Some celebrity poker players are better than others, of course, but everyone loves watching their favorite TV star or movie actor laying down a low pair with glee and certainty, only to bust. With the advent of Celebrity Poker Showdown, now we can watch a bunch of stars get together and fumble their way through a poker game on TV every week. A lot of these celebrity players aren't very good - most of the time it's their first game. Sometimes they'll surprise you though.

Take James Woods, for instance. James has been playing Texas Hold'em poker for a long time, and he's made some rather large impressions in the poker world. During the 2006 L.A. Poker Classic, James was sitting in 14th place at one point, with over $330,000 in chips. He also writes a poker blog on a popular website, providing his own style of insight on the game, and regularly takes part in weekly celebrity tournaments along with Vince Van Patten.

Van Patten is another celebrity that takes a very active role in the poker community, aside from his connection with his online poker room. Most of us know Vince's father, the actor Dick Van Patten, but anyone who takes any interest in poker knows Vince as one of the hosts of the World Poker Tour - the premiere traveling poker tournament, which features poker stars from all over the world.

Some celebrity names that have made a few waves in poker are Jason Alexander, Jennifer Tilly, Mena Suvari, Mimi Rogers, Dennis Quaid, Shannon Elizabeth, Kevin Nealon, Ben Affleck, and Lauren Graham. Together, they have driven a new public awareness of poker and helped to bring it from backroom poker tables out into the limelight. A lot of them will play quite openly in one poker room or another, sometimes even hosting tournaments of their own.

Who wouldn't want to play against Shannon Elizabeth, or against Jason Alexander? They may not offer up the challenge of a Daniel Negreanu or a Phil Ivey, but playing celebrity poker always makes a good story.