Tobey Maguire Sued for Underground Poker Winnings

Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire is among at least 11 people being sued by trustees for his winnings in a series of high-stakes Hollywood poker games, Star magazine reported Wednesday. Maguire, as well as former High Stakes Poker host Gabe Kaplan and professional poker player Dan Bilzerian, have been accused of taking winnings from Brad Ruderman, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year for operating a wire fraud and investment adviser fraud scheme that lost investors $25 million.

The suit claims that Ruderman, 48, participated in the high stakes poker games and lost upwards of $5.2 million. He then developed a Ponzi scheme to pay off his losses. One lawsuit claimed that Ruderman induced at least 22 victim-investors to give him approximately $44.3 million, all of which was never invested.

Since the high-roller No Limit Hold ’em games were unlicensed and illegal, a bankruptcy trustee is going after Ruderman’s creditors to get some of his clients’ money back. None of the defendants in the civil lawsuits is facing criminal charges, but they’ll have to return at least $1.5 million of their alleged winnings or defend themselves in court.

Maguire allegedly won $311,200 from Ruderman at the poker table, according to the suit. The money was sent to him through seven bank transfers between June 2007 and May 2008. The trustee claims that Maguire “had no legally enforceable contractual right to receive payment, and had no right to enforce the winnings in state or federal court.”

“As part of the scheme, funds invested in (Ruderman) were transferred to persons such as Defendant (Tobey Maguire) who received the funds on account of Ruderman’s gambling losses and on account of Defendant’s gambling winnings,” the suit reads.

Bilzerian is being sued for $100,000 and told Star that he would fight the allegations. “I’m not paying a single cent,” he told the magazine. “If a casino gets taken and then lawyers come after them, the establishment isn’t going to then go after one of its players to cover their loss. Are you kidding me? I’m not paying s**t.”

Bilzerian said that he played regularly in the home game with Maguire, whom he called a “nit” and a “jerk off.” He added, “He’s cheap as f**k and plays like a cheap b*tch … a guy who’s worth all that money playing as if he’s broke. Come on, dude.”

The former Victory Poker pro later claimed on Twitter that he was misquoted in the Star article, but held his position on Maguire: “Going on ABC news tonight to set record strait, on my misquotes in Star mag article. And yes Tobey McGuire plays poker like a nitty bitch.”

Other celebrities allegedly taking part in the games included Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Nick Cassavetes, according to reports, though they are not being sued. The games ended in 2009, according to the lawsuit.

Dan Bilzerian’s brother, Adam, told Star that the games commonly take place at the home of a Hollywood producer, presumably Cassavetes, and that the buy-in is anywhere from $40,000 to $200,000. The lawsuit claims that games were held twice weekly in suites at the luxurious Beverly Hills hotel, Four Seasons and the Viper Room on Sunset Boulevard. Private dealers and armed security were hired for the games, according to reports.

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