The Yankees slugger reportedly played in the illegal high-stakes poker ring in that included A-list celebrities such as Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.This is now the second time A-Rod's poker hobby has gotten him in the news, and I guess in trouble. And for the second time I don't think he did anything wrong. It's his money, poker is a skill game, what's the big freaking deal?
Rodriguez also recently played in a separate high-stakes game that had a $40,000 buy-in, Star magazine and RadarOnline.com reported today.
Poker player Adam Bilzerian told the publications "I was surprised to see just how good a poker player Alex is." In one game with the past two years, "A-Rod won a bunch of money,” Bilzerian said.
The ring that included celebrities came to light recently after Maguire was sued by a trustee trying to recover money lost in a Ponzi scheme allegedly masterminded by a Beverly Hills hedge fund manager. Maguire won more than $300,000 in the poker games from the hedge fund manager, Star has reported.
The poker ring cost $100,000 to get into.
"Initially, A-Rod came to the game and simply watched,” one source told Star.
“But once he knew what it was all about, he brought into the game. He played two or three times, I would estimate."
(Now, it's worth pointing out that I like and play poker and think it should be legal in all 50 states and online, so yes, I'm bias.)