Tobey Maguire: How Underground Poker Ruined His Reputation
Tobey Maguire: How The Web-Slinger Ruined His Reputation
Although Tobey Maguire is probably known best for his role in the first Spider-Man movies, he is, let’s be frank, not the best Spider-Man. That honour goes to Tom Holland. Nevertheless, we haven’t seen so much of Toby on the screens recently. One of the reasons for this is that according to Hollywood gossip, he’s just not a very nice person. More recently his name has come up in regard to casino gambling, and particularly, the playing of jackpot poker. Unfortunately, his reputation precedes him. For a time, he was regarded as a bad sport, a loser, and more than probably, a gambling addict.
The Darker Side Of Spidy
Though Tobey Maguire is recognizable as the face of a huge Marvel franchise, more recently his name has come up in the world of underground gambling. Thanks to a book called “Molly’s Game” which was to become a movie itself in 2017. And unfortunately for Tobey, it showed a side to the actor that was nothing less than wholly unpleasant. Many consider him rude and arrogant, as well as being a particularly bad sport at the casino poker table. Though he fancied himself as a professional poker player, his behaviour was very wide of the mark. In fact, the book has gone some ways towards curtailing his career, which is probably why you’ve seen so little of him on the silver screen.
Tobey Maguire’s Acting Career
Before we discuss his gambling abilities or lack of them, let’s have a brief overview of his acting career. Tobias Vincent Maguire hails from Santa Monica in California where he was born in 1975. His first feature film was the 1989 movie, “The Wizard”, in which he was a child actor. He also had several smaller roles in TV series and commercials. It was during this period that he befriended another child actor called Leonardo DiCaprio. They would go to auditions together and also recommend each other to famous producers.
Tobey’s career really started taking off when he landed a leading role in “Ride With The Devil”, as well as voicing the beloved beagle puppy called Lou in the animated film, “Cats and Dogs.” Then in 2002, he took, what was to be his pivotal role, as Peter Parker in Marvel’s Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi. He played Spidey for two movies and then relinquished the role to Andrew Garfield for The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012. McGuire went on to star with Leonardo in Baz Luhrmann’s Great Gatsby. He played the story’s narrator, Nick Carraway in the movie based on the 1925 novel from F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Tobey Maguire and Poker
For many actors, there’s a considerable amount of downtime between productions. That’s the reason why some of them turn to the many vices that’s available in Hollywood. For whatever reason, we know that Tobey Maguire has a thing for casino gambling and especially for the game of poker. During his card-playing career, he has certainly had a fair share of success. He has taken part in many tournaments across the United States. On the whole, he likes to travel with some of his acting friends but also has a movie star style posse who goes with him everywhere. Everything was going swimmingly until one particular tournament made the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
A Look at Tobey’s Poker Playing
In 2002, a book was published about the underground poker scene which was to blow the lid off a huge hidden economy that revolved around celebrities and the game of poker. It was written by Molly Bloom who was responsible for organising high stakes poker games for the rich and famous. In 2017 it was made into a movie of the same name. The book doesn’t hold back when it comes to dishing the dirt on those who took part in these illegal table games. And a great deal of venom (spidey reference!) was reserved for Maguire. In the Spider-Man movies, he appears as a lovable, kind and sweet boy. But according to Molly Bloom, he is the polar opposite.
A Bad Loser
In Molly’s Game, we see a side of Maguire that had remained hidden from the public up until that point. According to Molly Bloom, Tobey Maguire is rude and becomes very aggressive particularly if he’s losing in poker. In many instances he would resort to foul language, calling others including her, demeaning names and also insisting on ridiculing other players. For example, he once tried to insist that Bloom should bark like a seal. He demeaningly threw $1,000 at her in the private game. The incident stuck in many people’s minds as it was showcasing just how rude and arrogant Maguire had become.
Chasing Dirty Money
One standout incident is that Maguire fought tooth and claw so it does not have to pay back a huge amount of money he won three years previously in one of these underground poker games. Apparently, the person whose money he took had used stolen cash for his wagers. The truth of the story is a mystery as the settlement of the case was private. But both parties came out of the incident with dirt on their hands. This is just one of the instances that took a toll on his reputation as a card player and also affected his career as an actor.
As a given, we suggest that you stay well away from underground gambling. Things can take a wrong turn very quickly and you can lose all your bankroll to unscrupulous gangsters. The best way to increase your jackpot winning chances is to play at a reputable online casino like King Billy Casino. Not only do they offer every variety of poker under the sun, but they also offer all new players a great welcome bonus of 151% up to €/$500 plus 51 bonus spins. That’s a great way to get your betting journey started.
Tobey Is Player X
In the book, McGuire is referred to as the mysterious “Player X.” But you find lots of small clues that act as breadcrumbs leading to Tobey. After reading the book, many people believe that Maguire had a very big hand in masterminding these underground poker tournaments. Rather than going to regular casinos to win the jackpot. In fact, initially, he was a partner with Bloom. The bitterness that pervades the pages of the book comes from the fact that he later dissolved their partnership and threw her out.
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Tobey Maguire Partners With Houston Curtis
Our Tobey Maguire story really begins back in 2004, when Maguire met a TV producer called Houston Curtis. They quickly became friends and soon Curtis started playing poker at home with Tobey. It was during this time that Maguire would host poker games with fellow actors Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio. Maguire’s ex-wife would act as both hostess and waitress and Tobey would insist that his friends should tip her. Tobey mentioned that during this period he tried not to win too often as he considered himself a good player and didn’t want to be removed from this group. It also became apparent that he really didn’t like the idea of losing.
Maguire and Houston decided to team up and host more private games which often took place at Maguire’s house. In the end, they decided it would be better to look for another location as Maguire was a bit of a germaphobe, and didn’t like the idea of having invited guests to his house. And this is how the poker games moved to the ViperRoom nightclub. This is the point in the story where things move up a gear.
An Alternative View
In the book, Molly’s Game, the Viper Club is put to use as a gambling location. And it’s where Molly Bloom first meets the Spider-Man actor. Interestingly enough, Curtis also wrote a book called “The Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist.” He claims that Molly Bloom had nothing to do with the underground tournaments. These were the work of Maguire and himself, with Molly just acting as a beautiful distraction. According to him, she wasn’t the underground poker mastermind that she claimed in her story.
Tobey Maguire And Gambling Addiction
Here at Jackpotfinder.com, because we write about gambling and casino games for a living, we have become quite astute at spotting behaviour that may be a symptom of gambling addiction. The fact that Tobey Maguire was rude and took part in behaviour that was uncouth and short-tempered, along with his singular determination to win every game, makes us feel that he was, technically, slightly mentally ill. Today we’ve learned that Maguire doesn’t take part or organise any form of poker tournament. He’s no longer in touch with either Molly Bloom or Houston Curtis. And he said that he has put his poker playing days behind him and now wants nothing more than to be the best father and a family man.
Gamble Responsibly
It’s important that if you’re gambling at any casino game, be it blackjack, roulette or poker, that you always try and play responsibly. Gambling addiction is no laughing matter and, like a serious illness, it can lead to a huge number of problems. These will not only affect you but also those around you and those who care for you. It doesn’t matter whether you’re playing at a land-based casino or online via the internet. As a given, we suggest that you only play at sites that have strict regulations and licensing. Part of that licensing agreement is that they offer tools like Gamstop that are designed to help those with problem gambling issues. So if you’re looking to win the jackpot online with a reputable casino, then we highly recommend King Billy Casino.
Choosing A Quieter Life
As far as we know, today Maguire is living a much quieter life. He recently had some cameos in various movies and is generally moving towards independent cinema. Right now he’s doing less acting and taking a greater role in the financing of small movies as a film producer. In fact, he has his own production company called Material Pictures. One of their first projects was the well-received movie, “25th Hour”, helmed by Spike Lee. Now he no longer gambles or even plays poker. Maybe to fill this empty space he has a huge number of other leisure activities and hobbies. As a gifted poker player, it’s not surprising that one of these is competitive puzzling. That’s right, you’re in a competition to put together a puzzle in the fastest possible time.
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