Celebrities Who Actually Play Poker and Are Good at It
Some famous people sit down at poker tables for photo opportunities. Others show up to win. The difference becomes obvious when you look at lifetime earnings, bracelet counts, and how often they return to high-stakes games without cameras present.
A handful of actors, musicians, and entertainers have put in the work to become legitimate players, and the poker community has accepted them as such.
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Jennifer Tilly holds a World Series of Poker bracelet. Victoria Coren Mitchell has two European Poker Tour titles. Gabe Kaplan has been cashing in on major events since 1978. These results cannot be manufactured by fame or bought with money. The cards fall the same way for everyone at the table.
Jennifer Tilly and the First Celebrity Bracelet
In 2005, actress Jennifer Tilly became the first celebrity to win a WSOP bracelet. Her total live tournament earnings now sit at $1,056,898 according to The Hendon Mob database. She was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2022.
Tilly started playing after meeting professional Phil Laak at a World Poker Tour event. She credited him with teaching her the game. In 2025, she returned to televised poker through PokerStars Big Game on Tour: Season 2, posting a cumulative profit of $61,700 across the first three episodes.
Her consistency matters more than any single result. She keeps showing up, keeps cashing, and keeps earning respect from players who do this for a living.
Where Celebrities Sharpen Their Game
Many of these players built their fundamentals away from live tables. Ben Affleck trained with Annie Duke and Amir Vahedi before his California State Poker Championship win, while Tobey Maguire worked with Daniel Negreanu to refine his approach.
The hours spent in online poker games, home sessions with coaches, and private cash games gave them the repetitions needed to compete at high levels.
Kevin Hart and Jennifer Tilly have also spoken about putting in volume outside of televised events. The practice hands add up, and the results at major tournaments tend to follow.
Victoria Coren Mitchell Broke Records Twice
The British writer and television presenter holds a unique place in the game. She won the EPT London Main Event in 2006, becoming the first woman to win an EPT title. Then she did it again at the EPT Sanremo in 2014, becoming the first player, of any gender, to win two EPT titles.
Her total live tournament winnings exceed $2,500,000 as of 2021. That figure places her 14th on the list of best-earning female live poker players. Coren Mitchell has played in the EPT Monte Carlo every year since 2016. She remains active on tour when most celebrity players have long since walked away.
Papo MC and a $12 Million Score
Argentinian rapper Alejandro Lococo, known as Papo MC, has lifetime earnings of $14,948,530. That number makes him one of the most successful celebrity poker players ever recorded.
In December 2024 at WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas, Lococo won the $1,000,000 Triton Million event for $12,070,000 and his first bracelet. Before that massive score, he finished seventh in the 2021 WSOP Main Event for $1.225 million.
Lococo built his name as a battle rapper, performing in front of large crowds and thinking quickly under pressure. Those skills transferred to the felt. His results speak for themselves.
Hollywood at the Tables
Ben Affleck‘s poker career peaked in 2004 when he won the California State Poker Championship. He attributed his success to one-on-one sessions with Annie Duke and Amir Vahedi. His total lifetime earnings are $365,400, with his largest cash prize being $356,400.
Affleck organized a celebrity poker game in 2020 that generated $1.75 million for food banks. Bryan Cranston and Adam Sandler joined him at the table with a $10,000 buy-in.
Tobey Maguire has earned $218,858 in live tournament cashes, with his best result being $95,480. He trained with Daniel Negreanu and became known as one of the more serious players in Hollywood.
Maguire played in the high-stakes home games run by Molly Bloom at The Viper Room during the mid-2000s. The character Michael Cera played in the film Molly‘s Game was widely confirmed to be based on him.
Shannon Elizabeth Left Acting for Cards
The American Pie actress committed to poker. Her total live earnings stand at $247,851 according to The Hendon Mob. Her best cash came from finishing third in the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, worth $125,000.
During the 2006 WSOP, Elizabeth competed as a Full Tilt Poker representative alongside 47 professionals. She signed a poker marketing agreement with Poker Royalty. Her results separated her from the typical celebrity player who shows up once and disappears.
Gabe Kaplan Started Before Most Pros Were Born
The Welcome Back, Kotter star made his first WSOP appearance in 1978. In 1980, he won the main event at Amarillo Slim‘s Super Bowl of Poker. Over the next five years, he reached the final table of that event twice more.
Kaplan has earned over $2 million in total live earnings across WSOP and WPT events. He transitioned into commentary work for High Stakes Poker on the Game Show Network. His career in the game spans more than four decades.
Kevin Hart as an Ambassador
The comedian signed with PokerStars as an ambassador in 2017 and later joined partypoker in 2020. He left that role in 2022. His live tournament earnings total $47,828. Hart plays high-stakes cash games and participates in prop bets. His main value to the poker world has been visibility rather than results, but he continues to put in hands.
Arden Cho Earned Her Seat
The actor, singer, and model cashed in her first WSOP event in 2013. In January 2024, she finished second in the PokerGO Tour Championship and took home $200,000. Her results show steady progress over more than a decade of play.
The Celebrity Poker Tour
The Celebrity Poker Tour hosts events at PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. The 2024 CPT Championship had a $100,000 prize pool and more than 50 players. Participants included Joe Gatto and Brian Quinn from Impractical Jokers, streamers Ninja and Ethan Klein, and former professional athletes Mario Chalmers, Mike Bibby, and Jose Canseco.
These events give famous players a structured place to compete, and some use them as a stepping stone to bigger tournaments.
What Separates Real Players from Hobbyists
The celebrities who earn respect at poker tables share common traits. They hire coaches. They study. They accept losses and return to play again. Their bankrolls do not protect them from bad decisions, and the professionals at the table give no deference to fame.
Victoria Coren Mitchell still travels to Monte Carlo every year. Jennifer Tilly still enters bracelet events. Papo MC still grinds high-stakes tournaments. The consistency is what matters.
Anyone can win once. Showing up year after year, decade after decade, against the best players in the world, is what separates real poker players from people who happened to be famous first.
