Loading...Thoughts from the Felt: Poker and Movie Stars
Published by: Sean Lind
Posted In: The Poker Reporter Blog
In one of my last blogs I wrote about the diverse characters you find around the world's poker tables. Among the drug dealers and judges sit some of the most powerful, rich and famous people of our time.Without knowing them well enough to call them "friend," this is the best way you will ever get to know the rich and famous.
When playing with someone for enough hands, you get a truthful glimpse into who they really are. Somewhere amid the lies, bluffs and poker faces, a glimmer of truth and honesty comes through.
In my time at the poker tables, I've only sat with a few movie stars. They include: Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Ben Affleck, Richard Kind and Al Pacino.
Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes (Jay and Silent Bob): Most Humorous
Luckily for me, at the time of this meeting Silent Bob was at the top of my list of people I most want to meet. Thanks to my dreams of filmmaking, offbeat sense of humor and love and respect for public speaking/speakers, Kevin Smith has always been somewhat of an idol to me.
On this day my friends and I went to play some cards as a group for one friend's birthday. It was late on a Thursday night, just fooling around for a little fun.
Only four hands after I sat down, I heard a distinctive voice behind me. Even when he's not saying "nooch" or "snoogans," Jason Mewes stands out in a noisy room.
I turned around to see Jason and Kevin sitting together at a table across the room. After pulling a few strings with management, I was on the table five minutes later. My birthday friend, also being a huge fan of Kevin Smith, instantly forgave me for ditching him.
Sitting on Smith's left with Mewes across the table, I was able to spend a lot of time interacting with them. As opposed to their onscreen personalities, Mewes is a rather shy, soft-spoken person, while Smith (Silent Bob) really never stops talking.
Luckily he's freaking hilarious, so no one seems to mind.
Smith: Luckily, he's freaking hilarious.
In fact, Jason rarely said more than a few words to anyone at the table other than Kevin. But every time he did speak to Kevin, it ended with him pronouncing the periods on his sentences as "you f**k!"
Neither of them are really great poker players (then again, Smith could write me under the table), but Mewes is one of the funniest players I've ever seen. When he sucks out to felt someone he'll throw up his hands and do his impression of the Bugs Bunny mocking sound (Wa! Wa! Waaaaaaa!).
I can honestly say that in my albeit relatively brief time with these guys, I learned they are truly down-to-earth, slightly eccentric East Coasters.
If you haven't watched all of Kevin Smith's films enough times to have them memorized, you probably wouldn't even notice that they're anyone special. In fact, most of the other players at the table had no idea until I sat down.
Out of all the people of note I've played with, these two win for being the most humorous.
Richard Kind: Most Tiltable
The name Richard Kind doesn't ring a bell with too many people, even though most people know who he is. He's been in countless TV shows and movies, most notably (to me at least):
Spin City ... Paul Lassiter (145 episodes, 1996-2002)
Curb Your Enthusiasm ... Cousin Andy (3 episodes, 2002-2005)
The Grand (2007) ... Andy Andrews
Sure, his 35 episodes of Mad About You is more substantial than his three on Curb, but I think Curb (and Richard Kind on Curb) is freaking hilarious.
Richard Kind is a fairly funny poker player. He takes the game very seriously, and at the time was still on life tilt after getting sucked out on to bust out in his episode of Celebrity Poker.
He lives up to his last name, but seems to suffer from having the general public expecting him to be a funny moron.
James Woods: Closest thing in our photo database to the Godfather.
He came across as gracious, kind of poker crazed, and heavily susceptible to tilt. Basically he's the perfect player to have at your table. Just don't expect him to be anything like the characters he's typecast as.
Al Pacino: The Godfather
If you're wondering why I have the hands-down biggest star last on my list, it's because I never actually sat with him.
He left the room a few minutes before I showed up. I wanted to add him to the list for one reason. Before he left, he bought the entire poker room (25 full tables) a round of drinks.
I'm still disappointed I hadn't shown up an hour earlier that day - it was probably my last chance to sit at the same table as the Godfather.
* * * * * * * * * * *
If I'm correct, and people don't hide who they really are at the poker table, then this is as accurate a view of who these people really are as I could ever get.
Now all I have to do is find a table with Tom Waits, Bill Murray, Elisha Cuthbert and Larry David. If you happen to know any of them, tell them to drop me a line.
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