Guest post by: Robert Lueras
It looked as if Ben Affleck was ready to have a steady stream of good-to-great years following the 2012 release of Argo, for which he took home an Academy Award for Best Picture. Despite the thought that he was snubbed by not receiving a Best Director nominee, the multi-talented Californian definitely had enough going for him to not worry about that matter. That was, of course, until 2013 rolled on and his latest film, Runner Runner, hit theatres.
To the dismay of everyone involved, from the critics to anyone who invested in the film, Runner Runner was a substantial flop. Well, to be fair, Ivey Poker points out that the online poker-themed movie did decently in foreign markets (aka everywhere but the U.S.). In the ensuing months, Affleck was met with a load of criticism after it was revealed he is portraying Batman in the next Superman film. Again, he was the punching bag of nearly everyone writing about him and, like that, his good graces had gone, well, bad.
Adding fuel to the negative fire surrounding Affleck was the latest news from his camp. Apparently the actor was booted out of the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas after security realized he was counting cards. According to TMZ, he is banned for life from the Sin City locale. Another headline, another bashing. Could it be that the oft-successful movie star just pushed his luck too far? Or did he, perhaps, take his role in Runner Runner too seriously? Maybe it's a mix of the two.
For those unfamiliar with that particular movie, Affleck co-starred as the protagonist alongside the screwed-over college kid portrayed by Justin Timberlake. In the film, Timberlake tries to pay of his student loans by making bank in online poker, except he stumbles upon one of the sites owned by Affleck's character and he loses it all. In other words, Affleck's a bit of a gambling super-villain, not unlike the way he was probably seen by Hard Rock security who caught on to his card-counting scheme.
Perhaps, he would have just been better off sticking to poker, because apparently he's quite good at that particular card game, too. According to a feature posted at gaming site Bet Fair, he is a regular at high-stakes games in his native California. Not only that, but he took home a whopping $356,400 in the California State Poker Championship in 2004, which had a mere $10,000 buy-in. If not poker, though, then maybe he is just better off putting all of his energy in wrapping up his obligations for Gone Girl, a drama-thriller due out in October of this year. He stars as Nick Dunne, a man who finds out that his wife has gone missing right after they celebrated their five-year anniversary.
You can watch the Gone Girl trailer below.