Blinds: 75/150/15
Chris Moneymaker has been steadily taking all of Ricky Williams' chips, and he just got the rest of them on a board of 
. A raising war ended with Williams all in but drawing dead holding 
against 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
31,000
14,000
|
14,000 |
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
To say Jeff Garlin is multi-talented would be an understatement. The comedian, well known for starring on TV shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Goldbergs (he plays Jeff Greene in the former and Murray Goldberg in the latter), not only acts and does stand-up comedy, he also writes, produces, and directs. Today, he adds playing poker to the list.
Garlin, who hosts his own podcast, has also starred in several films including WALL-E, ParaNorman, Safety Not Guaranteed, The Rocker, and The Bounty Hunter.
In Curb Your Enthusiasm, Garlin has been known to play in a fictional poker game alongside Larry David and others. However, off the screen, he’s actually an experienced player. He is a frequent attendee at charity poker events, and back in the day played on Celebrity Poker Showdown against the likes of Angela Bassett, Dave Navarro, Mekhi Phifer, and Emily Procter. Phifer ultimately won that match.
As fate would have it, poker would ultimately lead to Phifer and Garlin working together on Curb. In an interview with the AV Club, Phifer explained:
“Well, I was at a poker game with Jeff [Garlin] in Vegas—it was a celebrity poker game—and we were sitting next to each other, so we just started talking and everything and he liked my work, and I liked his work. And I said, ‘Man, I’m loving that damned Curb Your Enthusiasm. If anything ever comes up, give me a call!’ And it just so happened that in the next few weeks, something came up. “
Only time will tell how Garlin fares in this tournament, but he’s no doubt hoping he does pretty, pretttttyyy, prrreeeettttyyyy good.
Brad Garret raised to 400 under the fun and Jon Hamm called next to act. Amy Schumer did the same from the cutoff before Michael Cera three-bet to 2,300 from the button. Jeff Garlin flatted from the big blind, both Garret and Hamm called, and Schumer got out of the way to make it four-way action to the 
flop.
Action checked around and the peeled off on the turn. Three checks put action on Cera and he tossed out a delayed continuation-bet of 4,000.
That did the trick as one by one his trio of opponents folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
23,935
11,785
|
11,785 |
|
|
6,352
-4,253
|
-4,253 |
|
|
4,194
-2,012
|
-2,012 |
|
4,005
-5,134
|
-5,134 |
|
|
2,381
-231
|
-231 |
An absolute legend of poker in media, if all poker fans don't recognize Brian Koppleman's name right away, they certainly know his work. That's because Koppelman co-wrote the most famous piece of poker pop culture, the 1998 film "Rounders."
After "Rounders," Koppelman did more work in the industry, notching credits for writing, producing and/or directing on such films as "The Illusionist," "Ocean's 13," and "Knockaround Guys." These days, Koppelman is best known for the Showtime hit "Billions," a critically acclaimed TV show about high-dollar crime.
On the felt, most of Koppelman's experience has come in the New York home games that inspired him to write "Rounders."
Is that Worm from Rounders in the tournament?
Well, it is Edward Norton, the actor who played the morally ambiguous character in the cult classic poker movie. When the film was released, Norton promoted the film alongside Matt Damon by participating in the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event.
“I got some good cards and won a few hands,” Norton previously said of that experience. “I played pocket nines when I was on the button, and bet it as though it was an ace-king or something like that.”
As it happened, Norton flopped a set of nines only to run into quads to lose most of his chips.
Outside of poker, Norton is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Among his film credits are American History X, The Incredible Hulk, 25th Hour, Red Dragon, Fight Club, Primal Fear, and more recently, Motherless Brooklyn.
While there are rumors of a Rounders 2 (and have been for years), poker fans will just have to be content for now with watching Norton in action here in this charity event.
Blinds: 50/100/10
Jack Black got his remaining chips in with 
but was dominated by the 
of "PeterMackPoker," who had his hand hold up to send Black to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
New York Mets slugger Peter Alonso appears to be one of the first celebrity to exhaust both his chips and his allotted reloads. Others at his tables are very deep-stacked, although another former home run hitter, Mark Teixeira, has yet to arrive and continues to blind off.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
17,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
16,000
-4,000
|
-4,000 |
|
11,000
6,000
|
6,000 |
|
|
8,800 | |
|
|
Busted | |
From 2008-13, Bryan Cranston starred in the career-making role of Walter White on Breaking Bad. His co-star was none other than Aaron Paul as Jessie Pinkman, and as fate would have it, the two actors are seated side by side in at a shootout table. If you've watched the TV series, you know it's not the first shootout they've found themselves in.
Before Breaking Bad, Cranston was the dad, Hal, in Malcolm in the Middle. Toss in roles in films like Argo, Trumbo, The Upside, and Godzilla, and Cranston is one of the biggest names in Hollywood.
When it comes to poker, Cranston is no slouch. In addition to competing in various charity events, Cranston also competed on Celebrity Poker Showdown back in 2005 and 2006.
In one match he faced off against Howie Mandel, Stephen Collins, Peter Dinklage, and Meat Loaf. Collins ultimately prevailed in that match.
In his next try, he squared off against Jason Alexander, Susie Essman, Jamie Bamber, and Kevin Sorbo. Alexander won that one and given he’s also competing in this charity event, there’s a chance Cranston can exact some revenge – Breaking Bad style!
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
10,247
10,247
|
10,247 |
|
|
1,884
1,884
|
1,884 |
Blinds: 40/80/8
Nate Silver got his remaining chips in on a 
flop and was called by both Ricky Williams and "D.Leeeeee." The turn was a 
and the remaining players got the rest in.
Silver: 
D.Leeeeee: 
Williams: 
Jacks and deuces were good for Williams, who was fading quite a few card. The 
was safe for him and Silver and D.Leeeeee reloaded their stacks.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
20,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
5,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
The Stars CALL For Action powered by PokerStars - Charity Tournament started as a small idea between Hank Azaria and Andy Bellin, who play in the same home game. Both wanted to use their fame and connections to help during the pandemic, so they reached out to PokerStars. The result is this very tournament chock full of Hollywood celebrities.
“Andy and I had been planning to hold a big charity poker event in New York, the old-fashioned kind where people actually sat around a table and touched cards,” Azaria recently told the PokerStars Blog. “We realized right now it doesn’t really make sense to do an event like that except for COVID relief.
Bellin added: “We’ve both been working really hard to think of how we can lend our various skill sets to helping people. Particularly right now in a time where charitable giving has to be way down.”
Fans no doubt know Azaria from the hundreds of characters he’s voiced on The Simpsons over the past decade, not to mention roles in things like Ray Donovan, Free Agents, and currently Brockmire. Meanwhile, Bellin is a screenwriter (he’s currently writing the Phil Ivey inspired movie The Baccarat Machine) and is a poker veteran having once played for a living and even writing the classic book Poker Nation in 2002.
Click here to read more about Azaria and Bellin on the PokerStars Blog.