Once banned from the blackjack table for being ‘too good’, Ben Affleck is back at it.
The former Batman actor took a trip to the Wynn Resort and Casino in Las Vegas earlier in the week, stopping off in the games room for a 3am stint at the tables.
While unconfirmed from the images taken, it appeared as if Affleck was back on the blackjack table – despite previously being turned away from the Hard Rock Casino & Hotel back in 2014.
A reporter once quizzed the 48-year-old on the episode at the Hard Rock, and Affleck confirmed the rumours to be true.
“That is a true story. I mean, that took place,” he said.
“I took some time to learn the game and became a decent blackjack player. And once I became decent, the casinos asked me not to play blackjack. I mean, the fact that being good at the game is against the rules at the casinos should tell you something about casinos.”
The actor would later reveal that he taught himself to count cards, and that he was asked to leave the Hard Rock and subsequently banned for life.
Affleck will be chuffed that the Wynn Resort staff were so forthcoming. He is in Vegas to film a new movie, and has been joined by the mother of Jennifer Lopez, with whom the actor is said to have rekindled his romance 17 years after cancelling their wedding.
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The Gone Girl star has immersed himself in the world of casino gaming, and so it’s no major surprise that he has a few tricks up his sleeve.
Affleck starred in the film Runner Runner, in which he appeared as an online poker tycoon, and is rumoured to be one of the key players in Molly’s Game, a book and subsequent film about the underground poker ring ran by Molly Bloom.
Attracting high rollers and worldwide celebrities, some of the identities of those involved are unknown – including the mercurial ‘Player X’, who is rumoured to be former Spiderman actor Tobey Maguire.
However, some names have been accepted as regulars at the shindigs, with Affleck thought to be a regular at Bloom’s events alongside Leonardo Di Caprio and the rapper Nelly.
Huge sums of money exchanged hands, although Affleck himself has suggested that his sole success at the tables has come in blackjack rather than poker.
So much so, he has been blackballed by much of Las Vegas – although not the Wynn Resort, it seems.
“I will say this: There were a number of casinos that said ‘hey, you can’t play blackjack here. We know you count cards. But, you know, you’re welcome to come, do whatever you want, see a show, have dinner. We’ll comp ya. Play roulette, we know you don’t play craps, but hang out, we still want your presence and business.”
Card counting in blackjack, while not illegal, does lower the house’s edge – hence why players accused of counting are typically asked to leave the premises.
Affleck, who reportedly raked in $1 million in two trips to the Hard Rock, is clearly a master of the art.