We are guilty of equating our favourite celebrities to the characters they play, expecting them to be clean, completely rid of human vices and bad habits.
No one would imagine that Ironman used to be a drug addict, and Spiderman has faced a tough fight with gambling addiction.
The number of celebrities with gambling addiction is huge, and the list includes some notable Hollywood names. Although we discover this through the playful lens of a paparazzi, addiction is a grave problem.
These celebs make a lot of money. Some spend it wisely, investing in real estate properties and luxurious cars; others can develop the habit of online gambling and gambling in person, wasting their hard-earned living.
Some celebrities may be good at the art of gambling.
They spend a great deal of time at the best casinos. Online sites have been added to the ranks of such establishments today. But many unfortunately neglect to choose only licensed online gambling establishments such as those at this list of the online casino sites on Casino Valley.
However, most of the celebrities don’t know or don’t remember this and end up not making a profit; in fact, they lose everything they hold dear – relationships, money, professions, etc. – as a result of their dreadful gambling addiction.
Therefore, today we have compiled a list of stars who faced a bout of gambling addiction and then overcame it with a lot of effort.
Without further ado, here are three famous Hollywood actors that overcame a gambling addiction:
Three Celebs That Defeated Their Bad Gambling Addiction
Of course, there are more than 3 Hollywood stars who have fallen prey to excessively irresponsible gambling, but to keep this list concise, we have picked the three most notable ones.
Charlie Sheen
Famously for his roles in 9/11, Hot Shots, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, Due Date, Scary Movie, Anger Management, and Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen is a pedigreed professional.
Nonetheless, he is more popular for making the news for all the wrong reasons. In fact, his face has donned headlines in popular magazines and news channels due to his coloured past.
Sheen’s gambling addiction was apparent to his close associates; however, the news was kept secret for years.
It wasn’t until Denise Richards – the former wife of the actor – claimed in 2006 during their divorce proceedings that Charlie Sheen spent about $200,000 on gambling every week.
As per Denise, most of his wagering losses are from sports betting. In 2005, Denise was quoted by the “People Magazine,” where she said that Sheen was even betting during their daughter’s birthday party.
For many years, Charlie Sheen has spent serious money on sports betting and poker games. During a recent interview, he admitted that he had spent his large wealth on bad habits, including cocaine.
And in the same interview, he also claimed that he was done with cocaine and even gambling! Though he had a severe gambling addiction, he overcame it.
Now, he inspires other addictive wagerers to shun gambling if it is no longer enjoyable. After all, gambling is all about fun!
Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire is best known for playing Peter Parker in Sam Raimi’s Spider-man trilogy, an iconic role. He is also known to have starred in movies like The Great Gatsby and Brothers.
Apart from being a good method actor, he was also heavily invested in poker. What started as an interest developed into full-blown gambling addiction.
In a 2011 lawsuit, the Great Gatsby actor was among the many celebs prosecuted for being involved with multimillion-dollar illicit gambling/casino rings.
As per the litigation, the Spider-Man actor won over $300,000 from Bradley Ruderman, a hedge fund manager jailed because of a Ponzi scheme.
Tobey was highly skilled at playing poker games, especially Texas hold ’em. He is reported to have won that $300,000 playing a covert game in LA.
Conversely, Bradley lost about $5 million. It was only upon defeating Bradley that Maguire realized his opponent had no funds to pay up.
Quite intriguingly, the 45-years old actor has carried out most of his wagering openly. Once he learned how to play poker from Daniel Negreanu, a professional poker player, Tobey participated in different competitions, winning several tournaments.
According to Phil Hellmuth, a seasoned poker player, Tobey had won almost $10M through his immense poker talent.
Close associates began worrying about this habit as he had a history of battling addiction, as he did with alcohol when he was just 19 years.
Though once a very popular and successful poker layer, Tobey Maguire has successfully contained his gambling addiction over the past years.
Ben Affleck
Known for his acting skills and blockbuster movies such as Gone Girl, Argo, The Town, Pearl Harbor, Suicide Squad, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Ben Affleck is arguably one of the best.
The popular Hollywood star was so good at playing blackjack and poker games that he, like Tobey Maguire, pursued gambling professionally and won notable championships.
Nevertheless, Affleck was frequently accused of card counting and cheating. That’s why he was also barred from entering several Las Vegas casinos.
As per the report of the allegations, the Daredevil actor participated in a super-secret game of poker where he lost $400,000.
During his gambling addiction, he also starred in a game-of-chance-themed flick, “Runner Runner,” alongside Justin Timberlake, Anthony Mackie, and Gemma Arterton — perhaps it wasn’t a clever decision to play such a role at that time.
Later, he enrolled himself in a rehab center to overcome his alcohol and gambling addictions, with positive results.
Today, he doesn’t wager carelessly and focuses on motivating others to defeat the same attitude he once faced in life.
Conclusion
Celebrities live a lush life full of wealth and luxury, and with that power comes the inevitability of losing your way.
Gambling is quite unpredictable; some find success, while others see heavy losses. However, the message to take away is that gambling can be fun, only if done moderately, and if you do get addicted, getting help isn’t difficult.
