Ten years have almost passed since the release of "Mississippi Grind" with Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds. The 2015 film directed by Anna Bolden and Ryan Fleck holds up as one of the better poker and gambling films. Very few films have come out since "Rounders" that can match the gritty nature of the gambling world, but "Mississippi Grind" came the closest.
Everyone would love to see a sequel to Rounders, but for now a second poker movie is not close to happening. That didn't stop us from brainstorming ideas for Rounders 2 that includes crypto scams, dogfighting, Russian cam girls, Ukrainian arm dealers, Hollywood home games, a ‘movie within a movie', online poker cheating scandals, multi-million-dollar prop bets, and Joey Knish's estranged daughter known as Lola Challah.
The latest poker movie is slated for release next month. "Dead Money" is directed by Luc Walpoth and stars Emile Hirsch and India Eisley. Hirsch portrays a professional poker in the middle of a downswing who gets caught up with a criminal element after a poker game gets robbed. "Dead Money" is slated for release on September 13 in theaters and via video on demand (VOD).
The poker world lost one of its finest authors when Anthony Holden passed away at age 76. Holden penned, translated, and edited nearly 40 books during his illustrious career as a journalist and writer. “Big Deal: A Year as a Professional Poker Player” is considered one of the best books ever written about poker, and it chronicled Holden's journey into the gambling underworld in Las Vegas in the late 1980s.
A clip for an upcoming documentary on the rise and fall of New York City underground poker scene made the rounds with “The History of New York Poker in 6 Minutes” on YouTube. If you're a fan of 'Rounders', then you're aware that poker rooms in the cult classic film were based on real locations around NYC that flourished during the height of the poker boom in the mid-2000s.
"The Card Counter", a film written and directed by Paul Shrader, hit the big screens last month but it's now available on VOD services. The Card Counter is more of a revenge thriller and anti-war film disguised as a gambling and poker movie. Oscar Isaac plays a small-time gambler William Tell, an ex-vet of the Iraq War who focuses on low-stakes poker and counting cards at blackjack tables in local casinos, while he tries to keep his demons at bay. He takes a college drop out on the road with him, while trying to help the kid avoid a dark path of revenge against his former boss.
Doyle Brunson aka Texas Dolly is getting his own documentary film, but this one seems a little bit extra special because it will be helmed by Jason Heir, the director from Michael Jordan's "The Last Dance", which was a huge hit for ESPN and Netflix last year. Heir is producing and directing the untitled documentary about the legendary Doyle Brunson, which also does not have a release date.
The first trailer for the highly-anticipated next generation poker movie is now available. The Card Counter will be released on September 10, 2021. It is directed by Paul Shrader and stars Oscar Isaac and Tiffany Haddish. It's billed as a revenge thriller that happens to take place within the high-stakes world of poker.
Russell Crowe returns to the big screen in the near future in 'Poker Face' playing a tech billionaire who seeks revenge on his old friends by crushing them in poker home games. Alas, his revenge plans go awry when there's a home invasion. The script was penned by Stephen M. Coates and Gary Fleder is set to direct the film that will be produced by Arclight Films.
Actor George Segal passed away after complications from heart surgery at the age of 87. The comedic actor was nominated for an Oscar for his work in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Poker players will recognize Segal as "Bill" from "California Split", a buddy film directed by Robert Altman in 1974 about a pair of degen gamblers from Los Angeles that also featured Elliot Gould.
Journalist and author, Maria Konnikova, recently published a new book about her experiences learning poker and taking down a big event in the Bahamas. Erik Seidel took Maria Konnikova under his wing and a short time, she became a decent poker player en route to a victory in a side event at the 2018 PCA for $84K. She chronicled her experiences in a non-fiction book published by Penguin titled 'The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win'.
While everyone is holed up at home binging on new shows and movies, there's a bunch of highly popular poker movies on Netflix to help get you through the coronavirus pandemic. The all-time classic, "Rounders", is available to stream. In addition, there's "Molly's Game", "Mississippi Grind", and "Win It All" to help you pass the time while in quarantine or lockdown.
Musician and actor, Kenny Rogers, passed away recently at age 81. Rogers is a country and western superstar, but he's also well known in the poker world for his anthemic hit, "The Gambler", which appeared on Rogers' 1978 album, also titled "The Gambler".
Awkwafina will star in a new film titled 'Baccarat Machine', which is based on a Michael Kaplan article about the Phil Ivey edge sorting case and his accomplice, Kelly Sun (real name Cheung Yin Sun). Awkwafina will play Kelly Sun, the mysterious Chinese woman who accompanied Ivey during highstakes baccarat adventures in Australia, Asia, Monte Carlo, and the United Kingdom. The two bilked casinos for millions by Sun manipulating edge sorting techniques in their favor. The two were eventually busted.
D and B Poker published "Poker and Pop Culture: Telling the Story of America's Favorite Card Game" by Martin Harris. During the poker boom, Harris authored a popular blog titled Hard-Boiled Poker. Harris quit his job as an English professor and went to Las Vegas to cover the World Series of Poker for numerous outlets. Over the last 15 years, Harris compiled a collection of essays that became the genesis of Poker and Pop Culture. We're fortunate that Harris sat down with us for a fun interview.
888poker Ambassador, Kara Scott, is hosting a new podcast called Heart of Poker. Kara will sit down to have a loose, yet compelling conversation with some of your favorite poker pros by asking a series of questions that are vastly different than the usual form of questioning from poker media. The first episode is available featuring the legendary Chris Moorman.
Oklahoma Johnny Hale -- an old school poker player, author, and gambler -- passed away at the age of 92. Oklahoma Johnny worked diligently to bring players into the game of poker over the last several decades. He's also the author of the 1999 book "The Life and Times of a Gentleman Gambler: Oklahoma Johnny Hale on Poker and Las Vegas".
Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, First Reformed) will write and direct a new revenge-thriller film titled "The Card Counter" by HanWay Films. The new poker movie features Oscar Isaac (Rise of Skywalker, A Most Violent Year, Inside Llewyn Davis) as a professional poker player named William Tell with a dark past.
Daniel Negreanu wondered about potential sequels to the classic cult films 'Rounders', a 1998 Miramax film originally written by Brian Koppleman and David Levien. Probably the best potential script idea appeared on 2+2 as something called 'EuroRounders'. Numerous ideas about 'Rounders 2' have been rejected over the years including Mike McD breaking up a human trafficking ring to a crypto scam to fighting demons in the sideways world to a prequel set in the early 1980s in the Bronx.
Alfred 'Al' Alvarez, noted poet and author, passed away at age 90. Alvarez is a renown poet but he is highly regarded in the poker industry because of his 1983 non-fiction book "The Biggest Game in Town" in which Alvarez captured the true essence of the 1981 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas.
Vince Van Patten's film, '7 Days to Vegas', will debut in theaters at the end of September and will also be available on video-on-demand series at the end of the month. Vince Van Patten wrote, produced, and acted in the film which also includes cameos from Phil Hellmuth, Phil Laak, Jen Tilly, and Antonio Esfandiari.
Sandra Mohr directed "Poker Queens", which tells the story about the first female poker pros and follows several notable players during the 2019 WSOP. The doc debuts on Amazon Prime streaming services in November. Liv Boeree, Jen Harman, and Kathy Liebert get top billing. E-Tay, Kelly Minkin, Kristen Bicknell, and Loni Hardwood also get screen time.
The poker community, especially in Great Britain and Europe, is saddened at the loss of one of the biggest characters in the game. Mad Marty Wilson made a splash on television poker in the UK around the turn of the century, which helped usher in a British poker boom. Wilson passed away on Friday after a six-month bout with cancer.
Matt Damon appeared on the Bill Simmons podcast. The actor discussed numerous topics including two films – Rounders and Good Will Hunting. Damon dished on the making of Rounders, Hollywood home games, Ben Affleck's poker skills, playing against Doyle Brunson, and a potential Rounders sequel.
D&B Poker Publishing announced they are publishing new titles in 2019 including a long-awaited strategy book by 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion Greg Raymer. Fossilman's Winning Tournament Strategies will be released in July 2019. D&B Poker is also publishing a book on poker and popular culture by Martin Harris. The veteran poker reporter and college professor authored Poker and Popular Culture: Telling the Story of America's Favorite Card Game, scheduled for release in June 2019.
The Sports Guy (a.k.a. Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer) joined Sean Fennessey for the latest episode of The Rewatchables podcast. Simmons rewatched the classic poker film Rounders, which he's happy to say, still holds up twenty years later. Listen in here.
Actor Burt Reynolds passed away at the age of 82. The renowned actor was a huge Hollywood star in the 1970s with top-billing roles in Deliverance, The Longest Yard, Smokey and the Bandit, Cannonball Run, and the Biggest Little Whorehouse in Texas. Reynolds also appeared in P.T. Anderson's film Boogie Nights and received an Academy Award nomination for his role of porn director Jack Horner. In the poker world, Reynold's is most known from his role in Deal. In the 2008 indie film, Reynolds plays a pro named Tommy Vinson who emerges retirement to tutor a young player.
The Live at the Bike aired one of its largest pots in history when Garrett Adelstein cracked Aces with Ace-Queen to win a pot worth $147,000. Meanwhile, Molly Bloom a.k.a. the Poker Princess and author of Molly's Game appeared at the Unibet Open in Bucharest, Romania to open the #QueenRules Ladies event.
Author Maria Konnikova announced her new book was going to be delayed because she's been too busy crushing the poker tables! Maria Konnikova appeared on the Poker Life Podcast with Joey Ingram to discuss her recent rise on the tournament scene.
