Celebrity Poker Player: Paul Wesley

For the past few years, the world has seen a diverse selection of celebrities who have graced the different poker tables all over the globe. We've already seen singers, comedians, character actors as well as the other types of people who have reached the celebrity status play poker at an elevated level of competition. 

The events such as Bravo's television show "Celebrity Poker Showdown" allows the television audience to see the extra talent these celebrity poker players have in playing poker.

One of the most popular Hollywood celebrity star that come to the minds of the television audience when it comes to television action is Paul Wesley. He has already appeared in numerous action roles as well as some other roles that perfectly fit his personality as a tough individual.

Paul Thomas Wasilewski or simply Paul Wesley grew up in Marlboro, New Jersey. His parents, Agnieszka and Thomas Wasilewski, moved to the U.S. from Poland just before his birth. Paul has one older sister named Monika and two younger sisters, Julia and Leah. 

 

Paul Wesley attended Christian Brothers Academy and Marlboro High School for a short time before being cast in Guiding Light in his junior year. His role on the show forced him to transfer to Lakewood Prep School, which accommodated his busy acting schedule. 

After graduating in 2000, Paul Wesley attended Rutgers University for one semester. With his parents support, he left after he realized he could make a career of acting. 

 

In 2005 Paul Wesley changed his last name to “Wesley” due to the fact that “Wasilewski” was too hard to pronounce. Paul Wesley enjoys playing poker, ice hockey and snowboarding as well as having an interest in writing and directing.

Paul Wesley first landed a role in the soap Guiding Light as Max Nickerson. He has also made appearances on the television shows Army Wives, 24, Smallville, The O.C., 8 Simple Rules, Wolf Lake, Cane, American Dreams, Everwood, and Law &; Order: Special Victims Unit. 

As far as movies go, he has had roles in Peaceful Warrior, Roll Bounce, and Cloud 9, Fallen, and Killer Movie. Paul Wesley is probably best known for his role as Stefan Salvatore on the hit CW show The Vampire Diaries.

Paul Wesley's TV series Fallen is a 2006 ABC Family miniseries based on the novel series The Fallen, broken into three parts. The first part was originally advertised as an “ABC Family Original Movie”, but nearly a year later, it was followed up with two other parts of equal length over the course of a weekend.

Fallen stars Paul Wesley as Aaron Corbett, a good-natured high school student who discovers he is a Nephilim, human-angel hybrid. An alternate reality game advertising the series has won an interactive Emmy.

He is engaged to his Killer Movie co-star Torrey DeVitto. Paul Wesley is currently starring in Lifetime’s Army Wives as the soldier boyfriend of Emmalin Holden.

Here's a little treat for those fans who are feeling lost on this Thursday night since their favorite vampire show is officially on summer break. Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder of 'The Vampire Diaries' were in New York City today to attend the CW "Upfront" at Madison Square Garden.

The only show reportedly cancelled by the network was 'Melrose Place'. The network added 2 new shows ('Hellcats' & 'Nikita') and moved a few of the others (like 'Supernatural') around to new nights.

MONDAY

8 p.m. "90210" (New Night)

9 p.m. "Gossip Girl"

TUESDAY

8 p.m. "One Tree Hill" (New Night)

9 p.m. "Life Unexpected" (New Night)

WEDNESDAY

8 p.m. "America's Next Top Model"

9 p.m. "HELLCATS"

THURSDAY

8 p.m. "The Vampire Diaries"

9 p.m. "NIKITA"

FRIDAY

8 p.m. "Smallville"

9 p.m. "Supernatural" (New Night)

Are you surprised that Melrose Place was cut? Are you okay with them switching around days and times of the other shows?

Celebrity Poker Player: David Schwimmer

From the infectious TV series “Friends” and the theme song i'll be there for you made most of us want to be part of the show. David Schwimmer appeared way back in the early nineties as Ross Gellar. He was the ludicrous, stammering, PhD who married a lesbian and spent the early part of the series bumbling from one scene to another with a pet monkey on his shoulder.

After a while of this most men in the audience wanted to slap some sense into the guy, and in real life a "man and his monkey" is not a formula for popularity, but in this case it worked. He also become one half of the "Luke and Laura" of generation X. As he chased down Rachael (Jennifer Anniston) most of us quietly told ourselves she could do better, but secretly wanted to see them together. "Friends" is done now though, and David Schwimmer spends his residuals at the poker tables in Vegas.

Schwimmer took his passion for poker back to the small screen where he earned his fortune. He was one of the first players to appear on the show, "Celebrity Poker Showdown". Not only did he get to indulge his passion here though, but he got to preview the film that he and fellow Celebrity Poker alumni, Ben Affleck, are working on. They are filming a "Mockumentary" this year that centers around their shared addiction to Hold'em. The setting for this film is the Las Vegas's "Golden Nugget" and released in 2006.

Schwimmer, unlike many on "Celebrity Poker Challenge" is a true enthusiast. It may not be long before we see him playing with the big boys on the World Poker Tour or the World Series of Poker.

About David Schwimmer: Born in Queens, NY and raised by his lawyer parents in Southern California, Schwimmer got his first taste for acting at age 10 when he was cast as the fairy godmother in a Jewish version of Cinderella. He continued to appear on stage at Beverly Hills High School where his classmates included Jonathan Silverman.

He landed his first regular series gig as the liberal son of a conservative talk show host in the failed Henry Winkler vehicle "Monty" before finding success on "Friends". Schwimmer successfully used his hangdog looks as Ross, the heartbroken hopeless romantic of the group and his anxious delivery coupled with the somewhat nebbish manner made him a standout on the show. He earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 1995.

As the final season of "Friends" came to close in 2004—promising closure on the long-running Ross-Rachel relationship—Schwimmer set his sights on the future early on, directing episodes of the show's spin-off "Joey" starring his co-star Matt LeBlanc. In 2005 the actor made his London stage debut at the Gielgud Theater in the play "Some Girls" opposite Lesley Manville and Saffron Burrows.

He also voiced Melman the Giraffe in “Madagascar” , Disney’s animated adventure about four zoo animals who escape and inadvertently find themselves in Africa where the city slickers struggle to survive in the wild.


Source: launchpoker.com

Singer Gone Poker Player: Macy Gray

The poker world has changed in other ways, too. Not only are more women playing cards now than ever before, but the new breed of celebrity poker player is Natalie Hinds a.ka. Macy Gray.

Away from them, and work, she unwinds by playing tennis and poker. "One of my friends in LA - whom I had better not name - has a poker game every other Friday and I never miss it.

"I love it! it's very social and I love to gamble. It's a brain game and I am working on it. Yeah, I am pretty smart," she says with a grin.

Macy Gray also appeared on the popular poker reality TV show the Celebrity Poker Showdown where she played with Jennifer Tilly, Brett Butler and Andy Dick for Habitat For Humanity.

Macy Gray was recently reported as saying that if she ever stopped creating music, she would like to become either a pimp or a professional poker player. The talented singer told Rolling Stone magazine that she could see herself pimping, despite the fact that such an occupation is difficult and sometimes even dangerous.

Gray's secondary occupation of choice, when her hits will stop coming, is playing professional poker. The R&B star reportedly said that, although now she was not good in poker as she would have wanted to be, she still managed to make money despite her current level of play.

40-year-old Gray, born Natalie Renee McIntyre, is also a prominent songwriter and producer. Thus far, Gray has released four studio albums, one live album as well as one compilation album. In 2005, the poker-playing singer established a music academy called The Macy Gray Music Academy where underprivileged children receive the opportunity to hone their performing skills.

In addition to her impressive musical credentials, Gray has found the time to become an accomplished and busy actress. Her first acting job was with no less than Denzel Washington in 2001’s Training Day. Since then she has starred in such movies as Spider-Man, Scary Movie 3, Lackawanna Blues, Domino and most recently Déjà Vu (again with Denzel Washington), for which she also performs “Coming Back to You” for the movie’s soundtrack.

“I’ve had a ball,” she said. “I’ve been lucky that I’ve gotten some really good roles. Working with Denzel was a lot of fun.” Although she has recently been focused on recording, she says she’ll be back to the movies soon. “I took a break from the movies so I could work on my record, but when I go out on tour I’ll be taking some scripts with me.” She has also made television appearances in Ally McBeal, That’s So Raven and Blue’s Clues, to name just a few.

Macy Gray has a clothing line, The Natalie Hinds Collection by Macy Gray, a men’s fashion collection called SNAC, and she will soon launch a joint fashion venture with Interscope Records for curvaceous women called HUMPS.

Celebrity Poker: Doug Savant

What do celebrities have in common that it seems people just cannot get enough of them. Is it their charisma, good looks, or mass appeal? No matter what their reasons are, people indeed just cannot pass up on their favorite celebrities appearing on television.



Some of these celebrities may know very little about poker, but one way or the other, they may have been hooked into the excitement and fun brought about by the game. It sure is fun to see these wonderful people go at each other for amateur poker supremacy. They may differ in their skills at the game, but they sure provide total entertainment for all their fans as they watch very closely on their idols.

One of the most famous celebrities who happily participated in these celebrity poker tournaments is television actor Doug Savant. Like all the professional actors out there, he has already established himself as a television icon as he appeared in some of the most successful television series. These include a stint at television hits "Melrose Place," "JAG," and the worldwide phenomenon "Desperate Housewives."

Savant's effective portrayal of the different television characters that he played made him a fan-favorite. He also starred in other television programs like "Firefly," "Nip/Tuck," and "24." He appeared in one of the tournaments of the "Celebrity Poker Showdown."

In this tournament, he went against his fellow "Desperate Housewives" actor for a very exciting poker showdown.

In his stint as a celebrity poker Savant played for the Desi Geestman Foundation. This charitable institution aims to help children who are already afflicted by cancer at a very young age.

This foundation also aims to help the families of cancer patients to cope with the condition of their loved ones who are suffering so much from the disease. The charitable institution will also try their best to provide these children with better living conditions.

Celebrity poker events like this provide viewers a chance to see the good side of their favorite stars. Savant showed that to the world by taking part in the event. Hopefully, more and more celebrities will join these charitable functions for a better society.

An innumerable number of people would definitely be pleased with what Savant and the other celebrities have done to help the different charitable groups achieve their humanitarian goals.

Celebrity Poker Player: Matthew Perry

The popularity of poker is not limited to the average person. Many television and movie celebrities have entered into the poker arena also. Do not believe these stars are merely decoration at the poker table. Many of these celebrities are fierce competitors. But these celebrities are merely the start of it!

There are more celebrity poker players than you perhaps think there are. Most actors that were involved in gambling movies developed a keen interest, many celebs play at special tournaments that raise money for different causes and some stars just gamble for fun!

Stars don't get much bigger than the cast of "Friends." As we all know, too, Matthew Perry seems to like getting himself addicted to things, and according to an interview I read somewhere, online gambling and online poker are Matthew Perry's new addictions.

There's nothing more satisfying than winning a stash of money from one of your best friends, so when Matthew Perry and his comedy co-star David Schwimmer go head-to-head on TV's American Celebrity Poker Showdown it's a sight to behold.

Celebrity Poker Showdown kicked of its second season on Thursday May 27th on the Bravo cable network. The inaugural season last year was such a huge success that this year the show has been expanded to two hours. “Celebrity Poker Showdown” is produced by Picture This Television in association with Bravo.

Each episode of "Celebrity Poker Showdown" features five celebrities competing against each other for a piece of the $250,000 Cingular Wireless prize pool in a game of No Limit Texas Hold'em poker for the charity of their choice.

Seated at the table was Matthew Perry, Country Music star Travis Tritt, actors Sean Astin, Rosario Dawson,Lauren Graham, Sarah Silverman and football great, Jerome Bettis. Pro Poker player Phil Gordon was giving them some instructions and advice for playing No Limit Texas Hold’em.

There were several other stars relaxing at the tables in the room waiting for a turn at the practice poker table. As the time for the tournament approached, all the celebrities scheduled for the first match were escorted from the green room to the set in the Key West Room.

Even though he is rumored to be a heavy online gambler, Matthew Perry spent a private VIP weekend at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas, where a casino host arranged it so that everywhere he would go; he went through back entrances and was seated in private areas.

Matthew Perry was knocked out in the very first round of Celebrity Poker Showdown's first show in 2004. He almost got through and win the 'gold chip' in his next try but was denied this time by Mekhi Phifer.

The actor admitted that he has problems with the way he plays his cards in poker because he hums to himself whenever he has a good hand.

"If I have good cards, I start humming 'Kansas' Dust in the Wind' and I'm just trying to get away from that.” Matthew Perry stated.

Celebrity Poker Player: Chris Masterson

Poker is exploding in Hollywood these days! And I've already spotted quite a few of these stars playing poker; some of the others have shown incredible skill playing on the Celebrity Poker Showdown, and some like Ben Affleck, Tobey Maguire , Jennifer Tilly and Shannon Elizabeth are playing in the BIG time!

And now Chris Masterson is now making his name in the list of great celebrity poker players. Chris Masterson has been acting from a very early age just like his brother, and he actually lost a role because of his brother. They were both cast in "Beethoven" but not as brothers! The producers didn't even notice the resemblance until the whole film was finished, and ended up having to hire a new actor to re-shoot all of Chris's scenes!

Don't worry, though, he's done alright for himself since then, appearing in movies like "Cutthroat Island" and "Scary Movie" with James Woods and Shannon Elizabeth. Now he plays Francis on "Malcolm in the Middle” in 200 teaming up with Jane Kaczmarek. Now, Chris Masterson is now hitting the poker limelight. He was doing really well when he was on Celebrity Poker Showdown. Playing against Sean Astin, Lauren Graham, Matthew Perry,and Sara Rue.

However, before finally being toppled in a heads-up match with Lauren Graham when he unwisely bluffs all-in with an unsuited 7-2.

After the appearance and got hooked up in poker, Chris Masterson took part in some celebrity poker tournament. He joined in the Celebs Drop Dollar For Charity At The World Poker Tournament. Joined a star-studded celebrities and poker pros in the 7th Annual World Poker Tour Invitational last March 2009, the tournament that combines Hollywood's glitz and glamor with Las Vegas' grit and gambling.

He also joined in the Sundance Poker Festival together with his brother Danny and girl friend Laura Preppon, Shannon Elizabeth, Gina Gershon, Kevin Smith, Emile Hersch, Good Charlotte's Benji and Joel Madden, Dave Navarro, Lance Bass, DJ AM, Summer Altice, Anne Heche, and poker pros Annie Duke, Phil Gordon, Phil "the Unabomber" Laak, and Antonio "the Magician" Esfandiari, to name a few. The crowd was watching us play in a huge white tent, with a DJ and with video monitors covering the action. When we hit the final table, Chris Masterson had the lead with $40,000 in chips.

Unfortunately, when Masterson made a huge reraise with Ah-10s from the big blind. Reagan Silber then moved all-in and Masterson called. Masterson was now a two-and-a-half-to-one favorite to win with his Ah-10s, but Silber hit a nine on the 9s-4s-3h flop. When the Ks hit on fourth street, there was suddenly hope for Masterson; he had twelve winning cards, and needed one of three tens or one of nine spades to win the pot. It was not to be. The Jd on the river secured the pot for Silber what a bad beat for Masterson!

Chris Masterson also participated at Dr. Pauly's World Series Of Poker Main Event. The annual 37thWSOP Championship event kicked off at the Rio with 2,138 players buying in for $10,000 each. Masterson and some celebrities and poker pros such as: Wil Wheaton, Tobey Maguire, Norm MacDonald, Antonio Tarver, Laura Prepon, Matthew Lillard,Chris' brother Danny Masterson, Daniel Negreanu, Carlos Mortensen, Gus Hansen, Barry Greenstien, Chau Giang, Andy Black, Andy Bloch, Mike Sexton, Richard Brodie, Tony G, Maureen Feduniak, David Benamyine, Scotty Nguyen, Hoyt Corkins, Chip Jett, Katja Thater, Denis Ethier, Dutch "Tool" Boyd, Kristy Gazes, Erica Schoenberg, Mimi Tran, Juha Helppi, Minh Ly, Noah Boeken, JJ Lui, Julian Garnder, Jim Betchel, Clonie Gowen, Amir Vahedi, John Duthie, David "The Dragon" Pham, Action Dan Harrington, Dan Alspach, Gank, David Sklansky, Mickey Applebaum, Lee Watkinson, The Grinder, Bob Feduniak, Shance Schleger, Isaac Galazan, Roland de Wolfe, Terrance Chan, Perry Freidman, Kiril Gerismov, Luca Pagono, Chris Masterson, Matt Matros, William Rockwell, Eli Elezra, Chad Layne, David Levi, Johnny World Hennigan, Mike Wattel, Brad Daugherty, Brian Haveson, David Skalansky, Berry Johnston, Bill Chen, Allen Kessler, Layne Flack, Farzad Bonyadi, Ralph Perry, Randy Holland, and Mark Vos.

Photo courtesy of http://images.google.com | http://www.worldpokertour.com | http://images.search.yahoo.com

Celebrity Poker Player: Sarah Silverman

Female celebrity poker players are not a new phenomenon; Let's face it, over the recent years poker has become a phenomenon driving people crazy all over the world.



Many poker enthusiasts would tell you that poker is not just a game of luck, but a real sport requiring its followers to develop certain intellectual skills and capacities.

Funny, irreverent, fearless, hardcore: all were used at one time or another to describe actress and bawdy comedienne Sarah Silverman and her unremitting style of humor.

Silverman's first career break was as a writer on Saturday Night Live during the 1993-94 season, but none of her satirical sketches were aired. She later had a featured role in HBO's comedy show "Mr. Show with Bob and David", and a guest appearance in a two-part episode of "Star Trek: Voyager". Appeared in several movies including "There's Something About Mary" with Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz and "The School of Rock" with Jack Black and Joan Cusack.

Sarah Silverman's career as a poker player started with her premier appearances on the popular Celebrity Poker Showdown, appearing on two shows. The first show she played against poker celebrity Shannon Elizabeth, and in her second appearance against Hollywood's celebrities Matthew Perry, and Christopher Meloni.

Her poker dexterity were good, her sense of humor at the table greater, but neither were able to carry her to the Final Table of either show.

Sarah Silverman has appeared on Celebrity Poker Showdown - and she played quite well - though she lost both times. Sarah is an avid poker player, though: don't let the loss fool you. In fact, she's in a regular game with Paul Rudd, the guy that knocked her out of the Celebrity Poker Showdown game.

At the end of her run on Celebrity Poker Showdown, Sarah Silverman climbed at the top of the poker table and begged the dealer for a helping river. The dealer burned and turned the river into the small of her back. Shortly thereafter in the Loser’s Lounge interview:

Dave Foley said, “And there was a river flowing down the small of your back.”

Sarah Silverman quickly replied with “Yeah, if I only had a nickel…”

So, it is no wonder that a wide variety of Hollywood celebrities, world class super models and notable sportsmen alike, have gladly embraced poker as well. We believe that the game of poker is not only very exciting, but is also highly glamorous and challenging. And, celebrities are always attracted to glamor and challenge of poker!

Photo courtesy of http://sarahsilvermanonline.com | http://www.maxim.com | http://images.google.com | http://images.search.yahoo.com

Celebrity Poker Showdown: The Celebritie's Poker Obsession

How many times have you found yourself at the movies or sitting in front of your television just to watch your favorite celebrities in action? How about watching your favorite celebrities in front of your television playing poker?

Yes! In fact, The celebrity poker tournament has achieved in popularity! Big name celebrities are also playing poker. And even Hollywood could not resist the influence as more and more stars are going to the poker tables.

Definitely, celebrity interest in the game of poker has encouraged public interest in the game of poker. And because poker is so popular, and many people like to watch their favorite celebrities compete on the popular television show, Celebrity Poker Showdown.



Celebrity Poker Showdown is a series of tournaments that match against 5 celebrities against each other when they play for their favorite charities. Airing its first show in December 2003 with Gordon and actor Kevin Pollak announcing a star packed table that included David Schwimmer of comedy series Friends, Ben Affleck, and Academy Award nominee Don Cheedle and actor Dave Foley.

The winners of each of the tournaments play one another in the season finale for the largest part of the prize pool of money used. The show is so popular in fact, that Bravo now averages more than one million viewers per episode. Bravo aired the series for five seasons and it was a very simple assumption.

On the brighter side, celebrities that have appeared on the prominent game show demonstrate the interest that not only average people have for celebrities and poker, but shows the fascination celebrities have with wagering their money for a better cause. It was very much like The World Series of Poker (WSOP), where people are eliminated through a series of rounds to get to the championship game.

The card game played was Texas Hold'em and the stakes went as high as a million dollars. The winner from each week's game will advance to the championship sixth game finale. Bravo viewers will have the inside track on the hands the different players hold through hidden cameras. They will also be able to hear commentary from the eliminated players, who will watch the rest of their respective matches from the “Loser's Lounge” through closed circuit television (CCTV).

The first 5 winners of the Celebrity Poker Showdown tournaments are Nicole Sullivan of "King of Queens", Maura Tierney cast of "ER", Seth Myers of "Saturday Night Live", Mekhi Phifer cast of "ER" and Brad Garrett cast of "Everybody Loves Raymond".

Some celebrity names that have appeared in Celebrity poker Showdown are Jason Alexander, Jennifer Tilly, Mena Suvari, Mimi Rogers, Dennis Quaid, Shannon Elizabeth, Kevin Nealon, and Lauren Graham. Together, they have driven a new public awareness of poker and helped to bring it from backroom poker tables out into the limelight.

Unfortunately, Celebrity Poker Showdown is no longer being aired on Bravo. There were eight tournaments held and Bravo elected not to have a 9th tournament. All told the tournaments traversed 5 seasons, which is not a bad run on today's television viewing list. But don't fret, there is still celebrity poker showdown, just wait for my other post for another Celebrity Poker Showdown update!



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