Celebrities and the World Series of Poker

As anyone who has ever watched a poker tournament on television knows, celebrities enjoy the game of poker just as much as an average person. Whether they are a sports figure, actor from your favorite television show or a musician that's at the top of the charts, celebrities are people too, and many of them are fanatical about the game of poker. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that poker's biggest event of the year attracts quite a few celebrities to its tables.

Even though most celebrities really don't need the just over nine million dollar prize for the winner of the WSOP, the thrill of playing poker and competing for that large of a sum of money is enticing to anyone, regardless of the size of their bank account. In the hunt for this prize were two of the most competitive men on earth, UFC fighters Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. Unfortunately for these two, even though they can dominate the world of UFC (Forrest Griffin's face was actually bruised up from his recent victory over Quinton Jackson), neither could last through the first day of the WSOP.

In addition to those hardcore athletes, there were some other very notable celebrities in attendance. Although they don't get paid to pound others into the ground, they are just as competitive as the UFC fighters. This list included Jennifer Tilly, Shannon Elizabeth, Jason Alexander and Sam Simon (who is not only the producer of The Simpsons, but also Tilly's ex-husband). Although they all played their best, the only celebrity out of this group to make it through to the second day was Shannon Elizabeth. Don't let her good looks fool you: Shannon Elizabeth is a serious poker player that wants to make it as far as possible in this year's World Series of Poker!