Not a good look for Affleck
Ben Affleck reportedly took part in a high-stakes poker game at the Commerce Casino in the Los Angeles area while being visibly drunk.
The well-known actor and regular poker player went to the casino in the early hours of Sunday morning, after attending a Halloween party in Hollywood earlier that night. He was seen arriving with musician Katie Cherry.
The tabloid website TMZ released photos of Affleck looking “wasted” on his Halloween night out and during his poker-playing session.
A profitable poker-playing session
The 47-year-old went to a high-stakes poker table after entering the Commerce Casino. The table was full on his arrival, but the floor staff and the other players were happy to add extra space for the actor, making it a ten-hand game.
he played for just fifteen minutes. The Hollywood star made a $1,500 profit during the session
Affleck’s buy-in was $20,000 and he played for just fifteen minutes. The Hollywood star made a $1,500 profit during the session before leaving the premises.
According to other patrons, Affleck was very drunk the whole time he was at the casino. They claimed the actor almost fell off his chair at one stage.
The actor’s struggles with alcohol addiction
For a number of years, Affleck has been battling issues with alcohol dependency. He made a public statement on Sunday, detailing how he had fallen off the wagon. Speaking to paparazzi, he said:
It’s a slip, but I’m not going to let it derail me.”
Affleck’s father was an alcoholic and the actor himself has struggled over the years to control his own drinking. It was in the mid-1990s that he first became sober. He was admitted to alcohol rehab centers in 2001, 2017, and 2018.
A fondness for gambling
Ben Affleck is one of the better poker-playing celebrities. In 2004, he won the California State Poker Championship. This saw him receive the top prize of $356,400 and a set at the 2004 World Poker Tour final event.
In 2014, he was banned from playing blackjack at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Casino. After winning numerous hands, there was a suspicion that Affleck was actively card counting. While this is legal, casinos do not approve of it, which led to the Hard Rock staff asking him to stop playing.
Speaking about the experience, he said: “I mean, the fact that being good at the game is against the rules at the casinos should tell you something about casinos.”