In the second of our award-winning* series (*best blog post written about celebrities on that website on that day!) on celebs playing poker, we take a look at more famous faces who have graced the gambling world with their presence.
Teddy Sheringham
As a professional footballer with 51 appearances and 11 goals for England, his work-rate and eye for a cheeky shot on goal was renowned. As one half of Team SAS with Shearer, he certainly slotted them in. As a poker player, and with a number of top five finishes and big money-cashes on his CV already, Teddy Sheringham is certainly one of the bigger UK names to be involved in both beautiful games. Having scored in the Champions League final for Man United, he knows all about high stakes too.
Jason Alexander
You wouldn’t associate his trademark character, Seinfeld’s George Costanza, with any of the positive qualities required of a poker player –subtlety to name just one – but Jason Alexander has been a regular on TV tournaments of a celebrity bent; he reached the final of the 2005 Celebrity Poker Showdown but was the first to be eliminated. He’s also cashed in at two tournaments, most notably a 5th place finish and a prize of $16,000 at a World Series of Poker Circuit Event.
Boris Becker
It’s not all been about dalliances in broom cupboards in fancy Japanese restaurants for Boom Boom Becker. Oh no. The youngest ever Wimbledon men’s champion might be no spring chicken these days, but the six-time Grand Slammer can certainly cut it on the cloth. With nearly $70,000 of winnings in the bank, Becker’s four cashes-in includes among them a 7th place finish at the 2008 PokerStars EPT Grand Final for a takeaway of a cool 12,000 euros. He’s now signed as a member of Team SportsStars for the PokerStars brand.
Sir Clive Sinclair
Okay, so he’s no Phil Hellmuth when it comes to poker prowess, but this entry is just too random to ignore. Sir Clive Sinclair, creator of the groundbreaking ZX Spectrum in 1982, and less groundbreaking (ground-scratching?) weird bike thing three years later, is a keen poker player! He appeared in all three series of Challenge TV’s Celebrity Poker Club, scooping the top prize of £25,000 in the first run. Whodathunkit? There’s nothing quite like arriving at the big tourneys in your C5. Go Clive.
The moral of the story? Go and get yourself a successful career in sports, or inventing if you want to get a leg up in porfessional poker.
