LUCKY YOU! At last Hollywood has got its poker act together. Egged on by the enormous public interest in poker, ace director Curtis Hanson (Oscar winning writer-director of LA Confidential) has finally put all the right cards on the celluloid table. Number one, he himself is a fanatical poker player of some twenty years and even more important he has gone to the trouble of actually enlisting REAL top professional players to stage the movie’s games. Authenticity has always been the problem with poker films of the past but with Texas Hold’em gurus like Johnny Chan, “Jesus” Ferguson, Ted Forrest and Erick Lindgren actually playing on screen with Hollywood greats like Robert Duvall you begin to get the idea that Curtis knows exactly what he’s doing. The script was inspired by the jaw-dropping real-life games which billionaire banker Andy Beal organises whereby he goes head to head with individual members of poker’s elite for simply hysterical sums of money. This is a case of fact actually being more unbelievable than anything Hollywood could’ve fictionalised. Hanson’s integrity is demonstrated by the fact he actually hired Doyle Brunson to advise on the whole project which strives to create the genuine atmosphere present at the Bellagio’s renowned “Big Game” and even replicates perfectly the famed “Benny’s Bullpen” at Binion’s Casino. The last word goes to the director himself, “Millions of people watch poker weekly on TV, so it was important to capture the reality of the game-that’s why the tables are mainly populated with professionals, not actors pretending to be poker players!” Lucky You the movie opens in the UK on April 28th. It’s the real deal!
FREQUENTLY ASKED POKER QUESTIONS Q: Is it true that there’s a top class player who plays live games in Vegas using bare feet or am I being wound up? A: Absolutely true! Some of you may have seen the “Amazing Feat” adverts for the Golden Palace where the gifted William Rockwell, who lost the use of his arms in a motorcycle accident back in the early nineties, is permitted to use his immaculate bare feet to study his cards. It’s breathtaking to watch the dexterity he is able to employ with his toes and the fact that he has become a top notch and respected player speaks volumes about his tenacity as a human being, let alone as a player.
Q: Is it true that there is a credible $60,000,000 poker prize on offer this year? A: This comes up all the time! Yes, there is such a prize but you’ll need a $10,000,000 buy-in to be in the six seated game and all the seats are taken! Be thankful. Phil Ivey is in one of them!
ALL THE ACES poker column: Friday, April 21, 2006: Lucky You Poker Movie
