Alex Rodriguez's Attempts to Keep Poker Face
Amidst reports that he participated in illegal high stakes poker games in a Beverly Hills hotel with other celebrities, Alex Rodriguez has refused to comment. His spokesman Richard Rubenstein, however, denied that Rodriguez played poker with Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in a game that cost $40,000 to enter.
The alleged poker games were brought to light after Tobey Maguire was sued by a trustee attempting to recover money lost in a Ponzi scheme, and the circumstances surrounding the poker games were revealed therein. There are apparently several sources confirming that Rodriguez plays a lot of poker, including poker player Adam Bilzerian, who told The Star that Rodriguez is a "good poker player," and he won a "bunch of money" at a game at a private home a year and a half ago.
In 2005, Rodriguez was playing poker at New York clubs, and it was reported that Commissioner Bud Selig was not happy with Rodriguez, although no action was taken.
It is very unlikely that anything will happen to Rodriguez from a legal perspective, although Major League Baseball will investigate these allegations, as it takes gambling very seriously. Still, if the allegations are true, Rodriguez is again showing poor judgment, as there are plenty of places to play poker legally. This will not help his image, already tarnished from lying about his steroid use, which he only admitted to after reporter Selena Roberts uncovered that Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003.
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