The underground poker games that were being conducted in Hollywood caused quite a storm in the gossip-ridden industry, and at the heart of everything was the famous actor, Tobey Maguire. As it turns out, our friendly neighborhood Spiderman is quite adept at the game of poker – so skilled, in fact, that he managed to earn about $311,000 from Bradley Ruderman. Unfortunately for him, all the money he won was dirty – and all that money he won would land him in court this January 30, 2012.
The story
Ruderman had apparently been the instigator of a Ponzi scheme where he lost more than $25 million of investors’ money. Soon enough, he was buried in debt and he dug his own grave deeper when he tried to win back that money through high stakes poker. Maguire won quite a bit from Ruderman, so when the guy got arrested, the bankruptcy lawyers went after Maguire to get back some of the investment money that Ruderman owed to his clients. They’re saying that Maguire does not have any right to his winnings because the underground poker games were illegal in the first place. Of course, Maguire wants to keep his money and claimed that if they were going to take the money he won from Ruderman, then the $168,000 he lost to the conman should offset the amount he should have to pay. Maguire is being sued along with Gabe Kaplan and Alec Gores. They all have until November 30 to prepare their defense. Indeed, the whole thing is likely to be a big legal circus worthy of a Hollywood courtroom drama.
Silver Lining
Maguire wasn’t the only celebrity involved in the underground poker games, though the others were lucky enough to not be named in the lawsuit. Fellow actors Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Leonardo DiCaprio also turned out to be players in the underground poker game, along with several Hollywood executives and businessmen. Indeed, the games turned out to be more trouble than fun for Tobey Maguire. But one silver lining appeared in the fact that at least they’re not being tried criminally for getting involved in the games. It’s hard to tell how the case will go, especially since the laws concerning gambling can be pretty confusing. Still, if all goes well, Tobey will be able to keep his winnings and maybe next time he’ll play at the WSOP instead.
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