Hollywood loves Poker
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Hollywood has long known a high stakes poker table is a powder keg of dramatic potential. The sexy new poker flick, Aces the Movie, is the latest in a long line of poker classics. The popular online casino is celebrating the DVD release of Aces the Movie -- dubbed "the Charlie's Angels of Poker" at the WSOP this summer -- with a gala star-studded event in Beverly Hills next week.
Matt Damon revived the poker movie genre in Rounders (1998), but Hollywood has been fascinated by poker and poker culture since Hopalong Cassidy saved the day by posing as a newbie poker player in Sunset Trail (1939),and Gene Autry starred in the classic poker murder mystery, Loaded Pistols (1948). In Maverick (1994), Mel Gibson and Jody Foster needed $3000 dollars to enter a winner takes all poker tournament. California Split (1974) directed by Robert Altman (M*A*S*H) and starring George Segal & Elliot Gould, showed the day-to-day life of card-playing, sports-betting, sleep-till-noon gamblers. Like the main character in 'Aces the Movie', the heroine in Big Hand for a Little Lady (1966) had never played poker before she sat down to the big table. Steve McQueen manages to get into the highest stakes game of his life in what most consider to be the ultimate poker classic, The Cincinnati Kid (1965).
"Poker isn't just about rules and strategy," "It's a culture. With so many people playing poker online now, it' s a lifestyle that millions dream about."
The retro Vegas-style online gambling site has sponsored and promoted 'Aces the Movie' all summer. Thousands of free DVDs have been given to new players and awarded as contest and tournament prizes.
Top Ten Poker Movies: Aces the Movie (2006), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), Rounders (1998), Big Hand for a Little Lady (1966), Kaleidoscope (1966), Maverick (1994), The Gambler (1980), California Split (1974), The Sting (1973), High Roller - The Stu Ungar Story (2003).
