[toc]The world of poker saw a famous face at the felt in the Bahamas as comedian and movie star Kevin Hart paid $200,000 to chase a multi-million-dollar prize against some of the world’s most elite poker players.
The world’s highest-paid comedian enjoyed sun, sea and the shuffle of cards at the PokerStars Championship at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas this past week.
Hart was unlucky enough to be eliminated, but with a reported $87.5 million in earnings between June 2015 and 2016, Hart could afford to re-enter the event for a second $100,000 buy-in.
Kevin Hart at the PokerStars Championship
Seeing celebrities at the poker tables isn’t unheard of, especially sports stars. However, the world’s highest-paid and most successful comedian is a sight that turns heads – even at an event that Michael Phelps has famously played.
The Super High Roller event carries a buy-in of $100,000 and features some of the world’s best poker players. Unfortunately for Hart, his comedy chops didn’t translate very well to poker skills like calculating implied odds and constructing check-raise ranges.
Hart claimed he “lasted until about 35 minutes left on Day 1” before being forced to re-enter. He ran a pair of fives into Jason Koon’s jacks and couldn’t find a lucky card, but immediately ponied up an additional $100,000.
However, with a few tables left in the event, the comedian and movie star was due more Hart-break. He found himself with a short stack and all-in with A-6, flipping against Daniel Colman’s 3-3. He couldn’t win despite flopping an ace and was eliminated in 25th place.
However, Hart’s time at the PokerStars championship is far from over. He’s been spotted playing the $50,000 one-day high roller event and hoping for better luck.
Jason Koon wins Super High Roller
Poker professional Jason Koon made good use of Hart’s first chip stack, going on to win the event. This gave Koon the first seven-figure poker tournament win of 2017, defeating Charlie Carrel heads-up to win $1.65 million. This is the second time in as many months that British youngster Carrel has been denied a Super High Roller win, having finished second in Prague in December.
“This could be the best of my poker accomplishments,” Koon said to online poker site PokerStars. “I’ve won [High Rollers] but I’ve never closed out a $100,000 [event] and this is the [tournament] to win.”
Who is Kevin Hart?
Hart is a stand-up comic, writer, actor and producer from Philadelphia. He recently starred alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the comedy Central Intelligence, which grossed $217 million at the worldwide box office.
He has upcoming roles in the 2017 Jumanji film as well as Captain Underpants.
Image credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com
