Remember Nadia who teased a pie-humping Jason Biggs?The Euro-vague accent in American Pie series and Scary Movie hot chic is spending more time playing poker than acting! Behind the beautiful brown eyes, sexy curves and a great assets is a true card sharp.
Shannon Elizabeth got her first tournament poker taste when she signed on to do a little show “Celebrity Poker Showdown”.
Since then, Shannon, who was previously married to actor,director and part-time poker player Joe Reitman, and now, Annie Duke’s current fiancé, has fallen in love with the game.
She’s become a fixture at cash games, charity poker tournaments and World series Of Poker Tournament (WSOP).
Her recent play has raised her status from mere celebrity poker player to serious pro. Shannon goes to Vegas almost every week to play against the best poker competition in the world.
Shannon has been playing in the Main Event of the WSOP since 2005. A winner of the 2005 Nicky Hilton New Years Eve Poker Tournament at Caesars Palace, outlasting 91 other players. She also placed 6th in Calvin Klein’s 2nd Annual Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament.
Shannon has also found a way to include poker in her day job. She is one nokf the cast in 2006 movie, “Deal”, along with Burt Reynolds. She played the apple of the eye of a young gun who winds up heads-up at the World Poker Tournament (WPT) championship against his mentor. Shannon take part in an actual tournament.She has one a few tournaments including a recent charity tournament at the Playboy Mansion. In 2006 she had 3 cashes at the World Series of Poker. Beating out 83 celebrities and poker professionals to win $55,000!
According to Terry and Alex interview with Shannon Elizabeth about her poker career goes:
“Your game has evolved quickly. You started playing for the first time when Bravo did their “Celebrity Poker Showdown.”
Shannon: And I just did that to raise money for my charity. But I kept playing different events like that to raise money. Eventually, I just started to understand what the game was all about, and started really liking it.
“You had more of an affinity for it than your typical beginner. Did you quickly feel like you could be great at it when you started playing?”
Shannon: No, I was horrible in the beginning! (She laughs). The first time I played, that time on TV, I didn’t know what I was doing. It was once I started to understand the psychological aspects of it, that there was more to it than just the cards…that’s when I really began enjoying poker. When I first played, I never understand what was so much fun about a game where you just get two cards and you just play it out. How is that competitive? But there’s so much reading of what’s going on at the table, reading other people, through their actions, and their betting patterns. You’re always gathering information. That’s kind of what the game is all about.
At 2007, Shanon's most memorable run was earlier this year when she shocked the poker world by making it to the semi-finals of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship,taking home $125,000.00 . She finished in the Semifinals, tied for 3rd. Shannon as her second career is one of the leading celebrity poker players. She defeated many notable professionals during the tournament including Paul Wasicka, Barry Greenstein, Humberto Brenes and Jeff Madsen.
She also makes an appearance in the video game World Series of Poker 2008: “Race for the Bracelets”, won the first Nicky Hilton Poker Tournament at Caesar’s Palace on New Year’s Eve 2005, taking home $55k. She’s cashed four times at the World Series of Poker in the past two years, each time in No-Limit Hold’em, her favorite brand of the game. She sits in 67th position on the top female money-earner’s list so you know she’s got to be good.
The online poker room Full Tilt Poker once had a sponsorship agreement with Elizabeth.
Want to be like Shannon Elizabeth? You can practice playing poker now and click this link to start playing!
For sure,your next opponent at the table will be Shannon Elizabeth.
