Poker Princess Publishes Book on Illegal High Stakes Games

Molly Bloom has hosted illegal highs takes poker games with the participation of the likes of Hollywood superstars Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio.

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In 2013, 34 people have been prosecuted on charges of conducting illegal sports betting and poker; according to the lawsuit, which contains 27 counts, the syndicate organising these games has made tens of millions of dollars and has been in direct connection with the circles of Russian organised crime. The defendants included recognised poker pros like WPT champion Vadim Trincher, WSOP title holder Abe Mosseri and Justin ‘BoostedJ’ Smith.

Also involved in the case was Molly Bloom, aka the Poker Princess, a member of the inner circles of Hollywood celebrities. She was charged with hosting high stakes home games in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami and Las Vegas, with the participation of billionaire businesspeople and movie stars, including Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio.

On 3 May, Ms. Bloom pleaded guilty before the court and was given a fairly light sentence of one year probation and a fine of $1,000, with which she was apparently very happy when leaving the court house. Federal judge Jesse M. Furman argued that prison would have been disproportionately harsh a sentence for someone who has basically just introduced people to one another.

Bloom is nevertheless likely to have made a lot more than $1,000, introducing the right people, and is bound to expect another increase in income with the publication of her book Molly’s Game: From Hollywood’s Elite, to Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker, dealing with the details of the poker sessions of the celebrities.

A source close to Ms. Bloom claims that “I have not read it, but Helly told me that it is a fairly accurate picture of the poker scene and is naming names, like fully, fully naming names. And she is apparently pretty nice to a lot of the guys in it like Ben Affleck and [Matt] Damon and all those guys, but she destroys Tobey Maguire.” Others, on the other hand, say Maguire is indeed somewhat in the focus but it is far-fetched to say the book is destroying him.

Apparently, the actor famous for his roles in Spider-Man and Pleasantville, among other titles, is by far the best high stakes player among the aforementioned list of celebrities and his aim at these games was to win and not to have fun like his fellow players. It seems he has won tens of millions of dollars, using his friend DiCaprio to get invited to private games he could not have otherwise attended. In return, Maguire paid for DiCaprio’s buy-in, possibly in the register of the millions.

Meanwhile, two leading members of the syndicate, Manhattan artist Hillel ‘Helly’ Nahmad and Trincher have been sentenced to one and five years in prison, respectively. Trials of additional members are in progress, although some defendants are still at large, some of them presumably in Russia.