Biography of Molly Bloom. “The Big Game” Molly Bloom or which celebrity loves poker Molly Bloom biography

Molly Bloom is not famous in the poker world for her game. Poker for real money attracted her in another sense: it was this woman who organized underground games in Hollywood and other US cities.

Many have almost forgotten about Molly, but just recently came out Feature Film based on the life story of this girl - “ Big game" This once again revived the name of this poker legend.

Basic biography facts

Molly Bloom was born into a poor family, and as a child her father was quite strict with his daughter. He gave her to the sport: Molly skied throughout her childhood, but after an injury she was unable to continue her career.

She entered the university, where her future inclinations were already evident: the girl more than once ended up in the police station for making noise. However, many noted that in her youth the girl was enterprising and very smart - which also came in handy when organizing an underground poker business.

After graduating from university, she moved to Los Angeles, where she got a job as a secretary. Her boss was the organizer of underground poker games for money. Over time, Molly Bloom began to help him organize games and she was very good at it.

Time passed, and the boss was too strict with Molly all this time. One day, the girl decided that she could organize such games on her own, and took control into her own hands. At that moment, she became more and more popular in poker circles.

Later she moved to New York, where she continued to do her business: there she managed to organize another underground gambling club, where bets exceeded hundreds of thousands of dollars.

After some time, Molly Bloom was accused of organizing an illegal gambling business. She found herself in the dock: at that time, all her income was confiscated. The girl wrote a book about her career and this became almost her only source of income.

After the accusation, Molly was no longer involved in the illegal underground business.

Who visited Molly Bloom's poker club?

Among those who visited Molly to play poker were famous personalities: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Gabe Kaplan, Macaulay Culkin and other popular people came to play poker more than once and lose (or win) large sums of money.

An illustrative story happened with Houston Curtis: in one night of play he managed to lose more than a million dollars at the poker table. He ended up being hospitalized with a heart attack, where he died.

Some of the guests of “Molly’s Club” would not even think of being upset about such a loss. For example, at the underground poker tables you could meet Alec Gores, a billionaire and owner of several large trading corporations.

Illegal poker for real money attracted not only movie stars - there were also “stars” of the criminal business at Molly’s tables. True, the organizer of the games herself denied that she was aware of what her guests were doing outside the poker world.

Thus, members of the Nahmad-Trincher group played at the tables in New York. They all moved in “unclean” circles and earned money illegally. This, of course, influenced the general atmosphere at the poker table: players behaved frivolously, could indulge in drug use, and even went to a separate room for a while to spend time with prostitutes.

All this spoiled the game and many professionals who came to play with Molly Bloom began to leave the club.

Criminal personalities at the tables, by the way, became one of the main reasons why the US authorities accused Molly of organizing an illegal business.

The end of Molly Bloom's career

Yes, eventually the FBI began to take an interest in Molly's identity. And such attention never contributes to business development. Especially illegal.

So, when real money poker players began to suspect that they might be being followed at Molly Bloom's club, they began to be wary of coming. Because of this, the number of poker players began to decrease, as did their bets.

Meanwhile, the FBI was collecting information about all visitors to the club. And one night they found 30 criminals in one place at once. The owner of the underground poker club herself was also arrested.

Then the proceedings, investigations and litigation began. But Molly Bloom herself got off quite easily: she was given a suspended sentence and a large sum of money was confiscated. By the way, almost all members of the criminal group also did not go to prison: they were forced to pay huge fines, but that was the extent of the matter.

Now few people remember Molly Bloom. The attention of all players was captured by modern, already legal poker clubs and huge tournaments with multi-million dollar prizes. But it’s poker legends like these that make history.

Molly Bloom, although not a professional poker player, is well known in the poker community.

She became famous thanks to opening and maintaining the largest underground poker club, which was visited by movie stars and powerful criminal elements. Based on the personal life and entrepreneurial activities of Molly Bloom, a film called The Big Game was released in 2017. Molly is remembered as a desperate and resourceful girl who managed to gather around her the most famous and influential people in America.

Biography of Molly Bloom

To Molly's underground casino Many famous Hollywood actors, directors and producers attended. So, Leonardo DiCaprio often visited the establishment, Ben Affleck often visited here, as well as Makalay Culkin. In addition, representatives of Molly Bloom's establishment were regulars criminal world. Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov and Vadim Trincher loved to spend their evenings playing poker at the Bloom club.

As Molly’s lawyer said in court, her fate was predetermined long before she met celebrities. Even as a child, the girl was distinguished by her extraordinary mental abilities and entrepreneurial spirit. During her student years, she gained notoriety due to constant problems with the law - either she was complained about in the dormitory, or she was taken to the police station for violating public order. It's no surprise that poker princess Molly Bloom ended up on trial before a judge and jury.

Molly's introduction to poker happened due to the passion of her boss at work. He loved to organize private evenings where he invited his friends to play poker. For this he took a certain fee, and therefore made good money. At first Molly simply played poker with all the guests, but then she realized that this game you can earn much more if you are the owner of such a club. Soon she opens her own establishment, which in 2000 was the most visited and popular in all of California.

Visitors to Molly Bloom's poker club

The bulk of visitors to Molly's underground establishment were Hollywood actors. The game was played at high limits, which attracted even more interest to the game. However not every actor or director could easily say goodbye to their money, and significant losses could end unpredictably. So, after H. Curtis lost a million dollars, he received heart attack. But stars like DiCaprio and Matt Damon could lose six-figure sums in an evening without losing their composure.

Molly Bloom's poker club was also visited by billionaires, for whom the loss of a million or two did not particularly affect their overall financial situation. Andrew Beale regularly visited Bloom. owner of many companies and dollar billionaire. This player is known for competing in high stakes tournaments with celebrities such as Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese and others. Alec Gores, a successful businessman and owner of a fortune of more than $2 billion, also loved to visit Molly Bloom's poker club.

Poker and crime

With the relocation of Molly Bloom's club to New York The number of visitors has changed slightly. In addition to representatives of the film industry, no more legal elements of the criminal world began to visit the illegal establishment. Thus, the club’s regulars were members of the Nahmad-Trincher gang. This gang worked closely with Taiwanchik, one of the most authoritative people among bandits in Russia and Ukraine.

Of course, these people also played at high stakes and brought Molly a good income. However, the bandits' parties could end completely unpredictably. This scared off the more cultured visitors to the club. In addition, poker princess Molly Bloom did not want to attract unnecessary attention to her establishment from law enforcement agencies.

Business collapse

Despite all attempts to hide her activities, and especially her visitors, Molly Bloom still could not escape the hands of justice. FBI agents watched her establishment for a long time. The intelligence services have long been looking for a suitable case to immediately arrest such a large number of bandits. Some visitors discovered surveillance Rumors spread, which led to the demise of the establishment. Soon Molly's illegal business ended completely.

FBI employees raided during one of the poker games at Molly Bloom's. About 30 people were arrested, including Bloom herself. All participants in the poker games were brought before the court. However, none of them received real sentences. Some got off with suspended sentences and a fine, others just a fine. The FBI failed to collect enough evidence to imprison the bandits, and the organization of an illegal poker club turned out to be not such a serious violation.

For some poker fans, the high roller game is all about meeting Asian businessmen and the rich at the cash tables. However, in Molly Bloom's underground club sometimes there were games with such high stakes, that not even every high roller could participate in them.

"The Great Game" is released. The directorial debut of the famous screenwriter Aaron Sorkin about big money. At the center of the plot real story the convicted owner of a poker parlor for businessmen and movie stars. Can we consider it a director's success?

Still from the film "The Great Game". Photo: Capella Film

For writer-turned-director Aaron Sorkin, the story of Molly Bloom seemed like obvious material. In her early twenties, after a failed sports career, she moved to Los Angeles, worked as an assistant for a Hollywood businessman who organized underground poker games, and then took over the illegal business from her boss and went to New York, where she visited the card club. Molly has added more Wall Street tycoons.

After the Russian mafia became addicted to poker in the establishment, the FBI became interested in the girl. She was charged with drug trafficking and assistance in money laundering. Molly wrote the book, and Aaron Sorkin directed the signature movie.

Egor Moskvitin film critic “Firstly, this is his immersion in a profession unfamiliar to him with all possible passion. This time he dives straight into jurisprudence. There is such a wonderful hero of Idris Elba who helps this girl. And into the profession of an athlete, because main character Begins her career as a member of the American Olympic alpine skiing team. And even into the profession of organizing underground poker games. Finally, this is a huge carte blanche for the actors, because both Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba are revealed here in some new capacity. This is clearly an acting breakthrough for both of them.”

Sorkin is one of the few who have won BAFTA, Golden Globe, Emmy and Oscar awards. This season he continues his quest for awards, although “The Big Game” is not among the favorites. Raised in a family of lawyers, Sorkin is famous for his complex monologues and dialogues, which the characters exchange like machine-gun fire, and also for the fact that he puts both politics and a humanistic message into each of his scripts, be it the film " Social network", the series "The West Wing" about the presidential administration, or "Newsroom" - about the news service. Well, now - “The Big Game,” says Ivan Filippov, host of the Telegram channel “Stocking Up on Popcorn”:

Ivan Filippov presenter of the Telegram channel “Stocking up on popcorn”“He's incredibly witty. He truly has the best dialogue in Hollywood. He is one of the top great screenwriters working in the industry today. His name has become a household name for some screenwriting techniques, ranging from the walk and talk he invented and ending with the same monologues. Moreover, even when he makes a series about sports broadcasting or a series about an entertainment television show, he always fills it with some kind of conversations or reflections about human rights, about politics, about freedom of speech or religion, or something else.”

The director's debut, however, despite the cheerful editing and signature dialogues, turned out to be not exactly bland - it has no morality, it seems to lead to nowhere. But here’s what critics note: the filmmakers made Molly Bloom practically a heroine. At one time, she kept secret everything that she learned about famous Hollywood men who squandered hundreds of thousands of dollars a night in her underground club. And now Hollywood has repaid her in full.

Molly Bloom is not famous in the poker world for her game. Poker for real money attracted her in another sense: it was this woman who organized underground games in Hollywood and other US cities.

Many have almost forgotten about Molly, but quite recently a feature film based on the life story of this girl, “The Big Game,” was released. This once again revived the name of this poker legend.

Basic biography facts

Later she moved to New York, where she continued to do her business: there she managed to organize another underground gambling club, where bets exceeded hundreds of thousands of dollars.

After the accusation, Molly was no longer involved in the illegal underground business.

Who visited Molly Bloom's poker club?

All this spoiled the game and many professionals who came to play with Molly Bloom began to leave the club.

Criminal personalities at the tables, by the way, became one of the main reasons why the US authorities accused Molly of organizing an illegal business.

The end of Molly Bloom's career

Yes, eventually the FBI began to take an interest in Molly's identity. And such attention never contributes to business development. Especially illegal.

IN last years the word "super high roller" is associated with cash games in Macau and the notorious "Asian businessmen". But what if behind the scenes of Hollywood there was one incredible story left, worthy of more than one film adaptation?

Much of the ultra-high roller cash game with the participation of famous Hollywood actors, Texas billionaires and New York mafiosi remains behind the scenes. Many of them exchanged the spacious VIP rooms of Las Vegas for equally spacious courtrooms.

Top stars of show business - Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Macaulay Culkin; poker celebrities – Dan Bilzerian, Gabe Kaplan; prominent representatives of criminals - Vadim and Ilya Trincher, Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov nicknamed "Taiwanchik"; art tycoon Hillel Nahmad and not only. They are all involved in this matter.

And they all knew the woman by name Molly Bloom. It was she who was responsible for organizing underground poker games.

"Poker Diva" Molly Bloom

“She was an extremely enterprising and smart girl,”– this is how Molly is characterized by her lawyer who represented her interests in court.

Young Bloom's parents would definitely disagree with this. Molly first came to the attention of law enforcement at the age of 18. Nothing special - she disrupted public order and made noise in the hostel. Notice the first bell.

Molly Bloom.

Her poker story began after moving to Los Angeles. It so happened that her boss, a real estate salesman, was organizing private poker games. Bloom quickly got involved and realized: you can make decent money from this.

By the mid-2000s, Molly Bloom's poker was considered one of the most prestigious in California.

Molly's Clients

Not all world-class actors are as good at the poker table. For example, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon repeatedly participated in high roller cash games, and mostly lost money. And from a famous producer Houston Curtis who lost $1 million overnight, suffered a heart attack some time later. Debt can be very difficult.

Molly's other clients wouldn't worry about tens of millions. Alec Gores- a famous American businessman and billionaire, owns eight dozen companies, his fortune is estimated at approximately $2 billion.

Andrew "Andy"» Beal– another extraordinary personality: a major businessman (net worth: almost $10 billion), a famous poker player and even a mathematician (the Beale Hypothesis he proposed has still not been solved ) . In the 1980s, Beal played a famous series of heads-up Limit Hold'em matches against best players: Phil Ivey, Chip Reese, Barry Greenstein, Gus Hansen, Doyle Brunson, Ted Forrest and others. Pots sometimes reached $10 million...

Nahmad-Trincher group

The most dangerous people at the poker table have always been people from the Nahmad-Trincher criminal group. They became regulars and became friends with Bloom when she moved her game to New York. The decision turned out to be fatal.

"Everyone knew, says one of the regulars, where did this man always go: two prostitutes were waiting for him in one of the hotel rooms.”

Vadim Trincher.

Apparently this is about Vadim Trinchera or one of his sons - Ilya and Evgenia. Together with a young art magnate from the Syrian family, Nahmad, they stood at the head of a large criminal organization engaged in money laundering on an incredible scale (at least $100 million is known).

One of the sources of their wealth was precisely underground gambling for prominent businessmen and representatives of show business.

Worked for them and Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov nicknamed "Taiwanchik", who was in charge of all affairs in Russia and Ukraine. The Nahmad-Trincher organization also worked closely with Druzhinsky’s group. In general, there was clearly more than one thief in law (Taivanchik).

Game Over

When the FBI got on the trail of the leaders of criminal organizations, Molly’s poker began to gradually dry up: the bets decreased, the players came less and less often. They were afraid. When enough evidence accumulated, the FBI struck full force. More than three dozen people were arrested.

“Poker diva” Molly Bloom was not left broke. She was given a suspended sentence (she got off lightly, frankly), and in about a month her book will be published Molly'sGame. Well, as usually happens in America: at the peak of the scandal, someone will definitely publish a book with their “memoirs”.

As for the Treachers and others, many received suspended sentences and millions in fines, others were imprisoned for a year or two - for little things.

Hollywood stars in Molly Bloom's underground games

Details of Molly Bloom's underground tournaments become public knowledge. Which Hollywood stars played big and what juicy details can “Poker Madame” tell the world?

Not long ago, the poker world exploded with hot news: it turns out that Molly Bloom was organizing underground games for millions in bets, we covered this story in May. But this story is far from over - the enterprising “Poker Madam” began to open up and juicy details began to emerge about the dark side of the lives of the rich and famous. Interesting? Let's find out!

Molly is currently working hard on the book “Molly’s Game,” the release of which has already become one of the most anticipated events of 2014. In the meantime, the publishing house is working on the circulation, why not find out who was a regular at the underground games, and how Bloom herself came to such a life?

How an errand girl became a Poker Madame

Molly herself says that until the age of 27, she was usually a girl from Colorado, working as an errand for a famous businessman, until one day he gave her the responsibility of organizing a poker game. Bloom's responsibilities included organizing appetizers and drinks, which meant she was essentially a cocktail waitress.

Gradually, the world of glamor, luxury, big money and celebrities pulled her into its whirlpool.

From my memories: “I remember that at first I was making $3,000 a night.” It was a colossal amount.

Gradually, people of the first magnitude began to appear at the games. Tips alone amounted to $4 million by 2009. By this time Molly was well known as the poker madam.

Today, her memories of past games are shocking and evoke strong emotions.

Hollywood stars visiting Molly

The most famous guests of the Poker Princess parties were Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio and Alex Rodriguez.

Perhaps the most surprising revelations concern the modest Tobey Maguire, whom Molly herself called “Hannibal Lector.” He could hook anyone and win with almost any combination. But if he lost, he behaved dangerously, so I started to worry, hence the nickname.

“Toby might have put DiCaprio in the game just to get the fat players to come to the table.”

Over the years, Maguire has competed in poker tournaments on high stakes, won millions, while losing practically nothing. But if he lost, he was the worst loser.

To satisfy the interest of such a player, as Bloom immediately realized, it was necessary to ensure the presence of “whales” at the game. So she constantly recruited among the rich and famous.

“Only the whales have enough money, but limited skill.”

Memories of Matt Damon are much softer, Molly notes that he was not at all like the poker addict played in the famous film Rounders.

“He was pleasant, humble, down to earth and very kind. Matt went through that phase and never came back.”

Ben Affleck.

But Damon's best friend Ben Affleck was a regular participant in the games and practically the alter ego of Tobey Maguire. At the table, these two often sat opposite each other, competing to see who had the more impenetrable poker face.

From the memories: “Ben revealed my game, he was simply amazing! I felt excitement and butterflies in my stomach. It’s such a miracle - they were part of the game, sitting at my table... So relaxed, handsome, tall. Not all Hollywood stars are as good in real life."

Leo DiCaprio turned out to be a completely unexpected player. It seemed that he was not at all characterized by excitement, and often his behavior was as if he did not care at all what was happening at the table. He could act bored and fold his arms, or he could just listen to music on large headphones. Strange guy.

Revelations about athletes

The biggest ace up his sleeve from the sports world turns out to be famous baseball player Alex Rodriguez.

“A-Rod was new to poker. No matter how great a man he was or how successful he was in his sports career, here he is just a beginner.”

Although Rodriguez himself denied for a very long time his involvement in underground poker games in 2011, testimony was given against him. Dealer Lopez said that during games, A-Rod asked him about the other players in attendance.

“He always spoke to me only in Spanish and asked for opinions about other players: “Who is this guy?”, “How good is he?”, “How does he play?”, “Is this guy a good player?”

By the way, participation in underground games caused significant damage to his sports career.

Poker and mafia

Naturally, where there is money and entertainment, there is the mafia. Money laundering through poker, in this case through games hosted by Molly Bloom, was carried out by quite large figures underworld: Vadim Trincher, his sons Evgeniy and Ilya, Alik Tokhtakhunov, better known as Taiwanchik.

These gentlemen themselves were involved in organizing underground gambling, but on the territory of the CIS, so they gladly joined the elite of the American gambling business. Mafia behavior at the table was rarely correct. Other participants note that they often combined poker with girls and went out for a “smoke break.”

Molly's big stakes

Although Molly's business failed and was, to put it mildly, illegal, it attracted moneybags like moths to fire. There were always enough people willing to play at the same table with DiCaprio or Affleck, despite the gigantic buy-ins. So, businessman Andy Beal lost $50 million in just one week.

What else did the rich and famous do in the penthouses of five-star hotels? We will now learn about this only after the release of Molly Bloom's book. Apparently, there are a lot of major revelations awaiting us!