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A host of the world’s biggest stars of the movies and the music world have been seen at the poker tables the last few years, with the likes of Nelly, Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon playing in tournaments such as the World Series of Poker.
Many movie stars have been linked with Las Vegas and gambling over the years but the love affair with poker goes far beyond trying a few spins at slots, as poker is a competitive, social game that’s much more a test of skill and perfect for getting together every week to battle it out at the poker table. Add in the excitement of playing high stakes poker and you have the perfect recipe for a regular game among friends and the Hollywood elite.
You have to choose who you invite to your poker home game very carefully, though, which is a valuable lesson that some of the world’s biggest movie stars have learned in recent months.Tobey Maguire has recently been named in a lawsuit filed by investors against Brad Ruderman, the CEO of Ruderman Capital Partners.
The lawsuit alleges that Ruderman played in exclusive high stakes poker games in Beverly Hills with Maguire, DiCaprio, Damon and others, losing $25 million in investor funds from his hedge fund. There’s no question that Ruderman lost the money but the lawsuit claims that since the games weren’t held in a licensed casino that the cash won from Ruderman should be returned to investors.
The lawsuit is targeting players that Ruderman lost money to, which is why Maguire is named as he allegedly won over $300,000 from Ruderman, with some of the money wired from the fund to Maguire’s personal bank account.
The private poker games reportedly included a $100,000 buy-in and were invitation owner, with a mix of well-heeled players playing each week from all walks of life, including other businessmen like Ruderman as well as some poker pros and attorneys.
Maguire and others named in the lawsuit are so far refusing to return any money and using the obvious defense that there was no way for them to know whose money Ruderman was gambling with at the time of the games in question.
While some of the games technically may have been illegal since they weren’t being run in a licensed casino or cardroom, there’s nothing to be down after the fact to prosecute someone to play at a private games as opposed to those who play casino play casino poker at licensed, regulated casinos.