Write to Win! [Archive] - The Hollywood Poker Lounge

Julie

05-10-2005, 12:52 PM

How would you like to have your article featured in Hollywoodpoker.com's Extra?

You could be famous! This could be the start of your writing career :)

We want to hear from you. Consider this your invitation to write articles on poker-related topics and submit them to me at julie@hollywoodpoker.com. Here's your chance to share your great ideas and stories!

This week's topic: Playing Poker with Celebrities

Tell us about any experiences you have playing poker with celebrities here at Hollywood Poker (www.hollywoodpoker.com), or in a real casino. Or maybe you have a dream of going head to head with a star on the WPT? Who do you think you could knock out of the next Michael Wood's Invitational? We want to hear from you about anything and everything related to celebrities and poker.

The winning article will be featured in the Hollywoodpoker.com Extra and the author will receive an exciting HP prize!

I have already received a few submissions, so it's time for you to dust off your journal and favorite pen, or fire up the ol' computer and get typing! And most of all - be creative and have fun!

Good luck to all :waytogo:

Julie

Julie

05-17-2005, 05:50 PM

Congratulations to last week's winner, Corey458, who wrote an excellent article on the topic: Celebrities and Poker. Corey458 has scored a ticket to the star-studded 'Michael Woods Invitational' tournament. Read his article below!

THE CELEBRITY I’D MOST LIKE TO KNOCK OUT!!!

By

Corey458

There are hundreds of celebrities. Some who are super stars, some who think they’re super stars, some who hope to be super stars, some we recognize by name, some we recognize by face, some we don’t recognize at all… there are some who are athletes, some who are reality stars (talk about an oxymoron) and finally, some who appear on Cinemax at 3AM in the morning. But with all of these celebrities to knock out of a poker game, what makes one celebrity a bigger target than another?

For me, the answer to this question involves three factors: Star Power, The Lighting Rod Factor, and Skill Level.

Let’s begin with Star Power. Obviously the bigger the star, the bigger the bragging rights. I mean, sure, it’d be great to knock out James Bond or Indiana Jones, but the truth is, star power alone is not all that important when compared to a big mouth. Take Tom Cruise for example. He’s the biggest star in the world, but I’d rather knock out Whoopi Goldberg any day. Which brings us to our next category, The Lightning Rod Factor.

The Lightning Rod Factor refers to those celebrities you either love or hate. And with celebrities, there’s no shortage of people here. We’ve got Jane Fonda, Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin, Bill Maher, Tim Robbins, Michael Moore and on and on and on. These celebrities love to express their opinions, they love to be controversial and they love to pretend to be experts on just about every subject imaginable. Basically, if he or she has appeared in an episode of South Park, then he or she fits into this category. Now for many of us, the celebrity we’d most like to knock out would be at the top of this list, however, for those of us who take poker seriously, our competitive nature leads us to our final and most important factor… Skill Level.

Thanks to shows like Celebrity Poker, we have been able to witness some of the worst, best, and without a doubt most entertaining poker on television. Okay, maybe that “best” part was a wee bit over-exaggerated. No matter. The point is… we now know which celebrities can really play. Some of the best include: Timothy Busfield, Paul Rudd, Mimi Rogers, Mathew Perry, Neil Patrick Harris and Maura Tierney. On the flip side of that coin, some of the worst are: Chris Kattan, Bonnie Hunt, Colin Quinn (the guy calls everything with anything), and Dennis Rodman. As a quick side-note, Both Colin Quinn and Dennis Rodman were big winners. But… hey, that’s poker. Anyway, with respect to the very best, three celebrities stood out from the rest. And they are also the three who are at the top of my list of celebrities that I’d most like to knock out.

Number 3… Ben Affleck. Although he is probably thought of as the very best celebrity poker player, Mr. Affleck is only number three on my list because, let’s face it… the guy’s had enough problems lately.

Number 2… Lauren Graham. Not only did Lauren Graham kick butt on Celebrity Poker by being aggressive, but she also played smart. Plus, she’s hot. I don’t know why that matters, but I thought I should put it down.

Number 1… James Woods. That’s right. James Woods. Although he may have lost on Celebrity Poker, Mr. Woods played with his chips like a pro and also has an IQ of like a million or something. (Okay. So I watch Inside the Actor’s Studio. Big deal.) Truth is, along with Ben Affleck, James Woods is probably considered one of the very best celebrity poker players in the world (make that Hollywood), which is also why he’s the celebrity I’d most like to knock out. However, having said this, Paris Hilton was a close second, but then I decided that she wasn’t really a celebrity.