While much of the legal wrangling in the case has already closed, a host of top celebrities and poker professionals are concerned about the release of a book by the organizers of those private games that could open the doors to the conduct at those gatherings.
The London Daily Express published a story about Molly Bloom, who might be remembered by some as being the sister of former Olympian Jeremy Bloom but is more known in the poker community for her organizational skills for private home games. Those games, which would bring in such notable actors as Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Johnny Depp (as well as a host of top professional players, businessmen and other millionaires), were high stakes affairs and, for her organizational duties, Bloom would take thousands of dollars in tips from the players.
Bloom has fallen on hard times of late, charged with tax evasion in 2011 and, earlier this year, named in the Russian money laundering operation that nabbed poker professionals Vadim Trincher, Abe Mosseri and others. With these legal proceedings facing her in 2014, Bloom has decided to write a tell-all memoir that will document the games she organized and what went on behind the scenes.
According to the Express, Bloom will expose that the players would often gather at the homes of players in Los Angeles, including the home of Maguire which had a cash counting machine and a customized poker table. Bloom states that games would often begin there before heading off to the basement of the Viper Room, a nightclub once partly owned by Depp and a popular entertainment spot in Los Angeles.
Once at the game (with its $100,000 minimum buy in), players were treated to Bloom’s reservoir of hosting talents. Providing masseuses, specially prepared food from top chefs and bottle service served by attractive women, Bloom would take in her “tips” from the players for those services as the game went on. Pots sometimes would reach into the upper five-figure range, for those involved a small price to pay for the action. The Express states that there would be sometimes three or four games a week where Bloom’s organizational skills were required.
These games came to a rapid close in 2011 after one of the players in the game, Bradley Ruderman, was convicted of running a Ponzi scheme and using the money of investors to fund his playing. The courts went after other players in the games to recover the investors’ money, such as Maguire (who settled out of court) and also targeted Bloom for the almost $500,000 she received for her work in organizing the games.
On the surface, Bloom would have a good story if it stopped there, but there are leaks that have been released that would make her story even better. According to the Express, Bloom will reveal that Maguire has a tell that would expose his game at the felt. Another story from Bloom will document how Damon lost almost $15,000 in a game and, after supposedly stepping away for a break, never came back to the game. Other information that Bloom might have is being held very close to the vest to incite interest in her upcoming book.
Naturally, the knowledge that Bloom has on the inner workings of the high stakes Hollywood poker world are causing a bit of consternation among those who were involved in the activity. Maguire is notorious for his privacy when at the tables (even to the point of denying media coverage when he attended the World Series of Poker Championship Event over the past few years), while Damon (known for his role in “Rounders”), Affleck and others may not want information as to how much money they lost playing in the games to become public knowledge. What actions they can take to stop Bloom (who became known as “The Poker Princess” for her organizing abilities) from publishing her book are unknown, though.
The book is expected to be released at some point next year but, if some of the revelations by Bloom and the Express prove to be accurate, the ripple effect from her proposed tome could be of a great deal of interest to the poker community.
