I knew I would regret not yet seeing Rounders. Tobey Maguire has been sued by a victim of a ponzi scheme artist who embezzled investor funds to run extremely high stakes underground poker games with celebrity rollers like Tobey, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck. Tobey was one of the major winners of the games, which were held biweekly at suites in luxury hotels. He’s being sued along with other winning participants in an attempt to recoup investor money. Maguire is estimated to have made up to tens of millions of dollars from these poker games, funded illegally by unwitting investors. The lawsuit has him winning over $300k, but a source estimates it at around $1 million a month for nearly three years. And I thought Ben Affleck was the big gambler. Affleck, Damon and DiCaprio also took part in the games, according to a named source, but they didn’t win much and are not being named in a lawsuit. This is a story about to break in Star Magazine, and Radar has the details. They make the games sound so underground and high security, I can hear Oceans 11 music playing in the background. (Actually I’m listening to this song now, so it fits.) I can see Damon and Affleck sauntering jokingly into the low-lit rooms in slow mo while Tobey sits there after a 14 hour bender, seething and determined to win back his money and them some. DiCaprio probably bailed after he lost a few times.

Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire is among more than a dozen high-profile Hollywood people being sued in connection with a mega-millions illegal gambling ring that ran high-stakes underground poker games, Star magazine is reporting exclusively.

An FBI investigation into Brad Ruderman, the CEO of Ruderman Capital Partners, uncovered how he lost $25 million of investor money in clandestine poker games held on a twice weekly basis in suites at the luxury Beverly Hills hotel, Four Seasons, and the Viper Room on Sunset Boulevard.

Tinsel town A-listers Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon also played in the no-limit Texas Hold ‘em games which had a buy-in of $100,000, multiple members of the ring told Star. DiCaprio, Affleck and Damon are not being sued.

Others who were part of the secret society and are facing hefty lawsuits include billionaire businessman Alex Gores, The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes, Welcome Back, Kotter star Gabe Kaplan, Paris Hilton’s infamous sex tape partner, Rick Salomon, record label owner Cody Leibel and Las Vegas nightlife entrepreneur and real-estate developer Andrew Sasson, among others.

Now, as Ruderman sits in a Texas jail until 2018, convicted on two counts of wire fraud and two counts of investment adviser fraud, lawyers for the clients whose funds he embezzled are filing a series of civil suits against those who won big in the illegal poker dens, in the hope of recouping some of their lost savings.

The games were “exclusive events, by invitation only, and that there was a regular roster of players consisting of wealthy celebrities, entrepreneurs, attorneys and businessmen,” according to the lawsuit filed against Maguire in the United States Bankruptcy Court, in Los Angeles.

Ruderman lost $311,300 to Maguire, including one losing hand of $110,000, on July 30, 2007, it’s claimed.

The Ponzi mastermind used clients’ money to “pay for gambling losses at clandestine, high stakes poker games that were operated without any licenses or permits,” the suit said.

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

In their attempt to win back Ruderman’s losses, the trustee has claimed Maguire is “not entitled to receive the transfers from the Debtor, which transfers were compromised of improperly-diverted investor funds.”

In a deposition of the alleged ringleader of the operation, which took in tens of millions of dollars beginning in 2006 through 2009, Maguire is described as a “very, very frequent player,” in the games, which ended in 2009.

Maguire won as much as $1 million a month over a period of three years, one source told Star, which is on newsstands Wednesday.

“That means he could have made up to $30 to $40 million from these games,” the whistle-blowing card shark predicted.

Under California law, it’s illegal to play for money at underground poker clubs, although it is a crime rarely prosecuted. None of the participants are under criminal investigation, Star has been told.

Indeed, it’s understood Maguire has hired an attorney to strenuously defend the allegations against him, who will argue the games were not illegal.

In a world exclusive investigation, Star detailed how the A-list aces used secret passwords to play in the covert games that were so intense, the door was manned by armed guards in bulletproof vests.

Inside the rooms, tucked away in different locations around Los Angeles, high-rollers laid down wads of cash on felt-top tables presided over by professional dealers who were part of the operation’s hierarchy.

One of the participants, Dan Bilzerian, told Star that he regularly played against DiCaprio, Affleck and Maguire.

Damon, according to Bilzerian, played irregularly.

While Affleck, who won an Academy Award for his screenplay Good Will Hunting, impressed players with his poker skills, both DiCaprio and Damon did not fair as well, Star reported.

“Matt never won,’’ another whistle-blowing player told the magazine.

“In truth, Leo is a tight ass. When he lost $50,000 the look in his eyes was obvious he was crazy.”

[From Radar]

So does this partially explain why Tobey is the new reluctant face of Prada? The dude is running scared, afraid he’ll be forced to open up his bank account to pay back some of his ill gotten gains. If this article is accurate, he may have made nearly as much money playing poker as he did from playing Spiderman. It sounds like he worked longer and harder at it too.

As bad as it sounds, this story made me think “well at least these dudes were just gambling illegally and weren’t off hiring hookers.” That’s not to say those two things are in any way mutually exclusive. They go together like cookies and milk.

Tobey is shown in November and December, 2010 with his wife, Jennifer Meyer and their two daughters. Credit: WENN.com and Fame. Ben and Matt are shown playing poker in a charity tournament in 2009.

These are new photos from last night’s Chrysalis Butterfly Ball, a charity event that benefits the homeless and/or unemployed. In past years, the event has gotten good turnout, and last night’s was decent. I guess two of the biggest A-listers there were Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, who refused to walk the red carpet together. I don’t even think Affleck walked the red carpet at all, because there is only one photo of him that I’ve seen, and he’s exiting the event. Can I just say something to Garner and Affleck? The jig is up. We know you’re together. You have two children together and you get pap’d all the time, often on a daily basis. You can walk a red carpet together, for the love of God. You are not Gwyneth and Chris Martin. Don’t try to be.

Anyway, I don’t know who did Jennifer’s dress, but it’s kind of cute. It looks kind of wrinkly and like she just threw it on, but at least it doesn’t age her by ten years, like so many of her “dress up” clothes do.

Next up: Balthazar and Rosetta Getty. As time goes on, I realize more and more why Balthy tried to get away from Rosetta for The Year of Sienna Miller. Rosetta just seems so crazy to me. Balthy is a mess too.

Speaking of messes, Vince Vaughn. Jesus, remember when he didn’t look so… unhealthy?

I don’t pretend to “get” Olivia Wilde, as a person, as an actress, or as a Fashion Girl. This dress is fug, and the hair is just… ugh. Bangs AND a ponytail? And yet… all together, Olivia doesn’t really look bad, I have to admit. She looks healthy and fresh, somehow.

Ryan Phillippe: Biscuit Predator.

Photos courtesy of Fame & WENN.

Jennifer Garner’s casual fashion definitely leaves something to be desired. She often wears loose fitting clothing and she’s photographed constantly, so she’s been on bump watch on and off for a while. It’s hard to keep track of all the times we’ve heard Garner might be pregnant. She’s not pregnant now, though, if her rep is being honest and has accurate information that is. She definitely looked like she might be in the latest batch of photos of her out with her husband of six years, Ben Affleck. Also, Ben needs a haircut badly. That dude goes from hot to fug with one skipped trip to the barber. What happened to him? We don’t have access to those photos, which you can see here, but there are plenty of other recent photos of Garner in loose tops and we’ve included some.

“The speculation is false, she is not pregnant,” Garner’s rep assures E! News. So, 5-year-old Violet and 2-year-old Seraphina remain a terrific twosome for now.

Ironically, in addition to it almost being the actress’s sixth wedding anniversary, it’s almost exactly one year since she denied the last round of pregnancy rumors. Then again, last September, she skipped the booze at a cocktail party and added more grist to the mill.

Garner, most recently on screen in Arthur, next appears in the comedy Butter, which, yes, is about competitive butter carving.

[From E! Online]

Kaiser is always telling me that Garner stages photo ops with her daughters, and I used to be like “oh no, the paparazzi just hound her,” but I’m coming around to the other point of view. I still like her and find her very normal and nice and all, but you can tell she plays it up. Maybe she’s just dealing with it the best she can, and you can tell that she’s a very hands on mom and dotes on her daughters. I basically make this argument in every story about Garner because I don’t know what else to write about her. That’s a good thing for her PR I guess. That and the pregnancy rumors. At least we’re not speculating about her marriage.

Photos are from the last two weeks. Credit: WENN.com and Fame

As you’ve probably seen on all of the mom-and-baby-themed blogs by now, Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck and their two daughters have been back on the Dimple Parade paparazzi stroll the past month. My thought on the subject is that Jennifer was promoting Arthur, and maybe she was trying to create some buzz for her horrendous monstrosity project, a “young” reboot of Miss Marple. Basically, whenever I see photos of Garner two days in a row, I get suspicious and think she’s hustling something. CB and I always disagree about that – CB loves Garner, and thinks that Garner just has a routine that the paps can easily follow, day after day. In reality, it’s probably a little of both theories. Anyway, as you can see from their recent pap-friendly outings, Garner and Affleck seem to be a better mood these days. There were even photos of them smiling and laughing together, a rarity. And now Us Weekly has a nice little story about how Jen and Ben are back on track:

He may be outnumbered three to one, but Ben Affleck wouldn’t change a thing about life with his girls.

“I have no testosterone left, but you know, I’m happy,” he tells Us Weekly of wife Jennifer Garner and their daughters. In fact, a source tells Us Weekly that the pair, who celebrated Garner’s 39th birthday with a barbecue at their home in LA’s Pacific Palisades April 17, are better than ever.

“All is really good,” says the insider. The only recent hiccup? Getting Violet into the right private school, says the friend. “But it was all sorted out. Tom Hanks wrote letters of recommendation!”

The couple’s work-life balance makes the grade too, adds the source: “Ben is happy doing smaller films now and being a family man. He’s the happiest he has ever been.”

[From Us Weekly, print edition]

As I said, it takes very little for my suspicions to be raised about this family. I think Ben screwed around with Blake Lively – and probably others. I also have concerns that he’s drinking again, and maybe worse. So… while I think that Ben might/probably genuinely love his wife and his daughters, he’s also got that self-destructive streak that rises up every so often and wreaks havoc. When I see unnamed sources saying stuff like “Ben is happy doing smaller films now and being a family man. He’s the happiest he has ever been” all I think is “Um, really? Or is that wishful thinking?” Still, I guess I should give Jennifer and Ben some credit – they really did seem like they went through a bad rough patch after Seraphina was born, and they managed to move past it. It probably helps that Ben buys “I’m sorry I boned her” jewelry for his wife after big transgressions!

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were photographed out together, supposedly looking for a school for one or both of their daughters, and they looked pretty happy and content for once. They often seem disconnected and upset in candids, but I think their mood is usually a reaction to the paparazzi that hound them and isn’t necessarily a reflection on their relationship. Kaiser isn’t a fan of Garner, and I understand that criticism that Lainey and Kaiser lob at her – that she’s shuttling her kids out to promote stuff, that she’s arranging photo ops. I don’t agree with that take on her, and I’ve seen video of the paparazzi absolutely swarming her when she’s out with her kids. I think that Garner and Affleck live a predictable life, that they’re followed everywhere and and that they deal with it the best they can. The worst that Ben has done is flip the bird a few times and scowl, which is completely understandable and a pretty mild response to what he goes through daily.

These two don’t even have a bodyguard (Kate Gosselin has one for God’s sake) and while Garner has admitted to having a nanny she isn’t usually seen out with a lot of helpers. I like them, I can’t help it. They don’t seem to think they’re regal, they do live the high life but they don’t seem to flaunt it or overextend like Ben’s ex J.Lo and her diminutive control freak husband. I’m rooting for them, but frankly I’m surprised they’ve lasted as long as they have. I had to say something negative and there it is. I’ve seen a lot of friends split up and marriage is a tough prospect for anyone, particularly two people in the spotlight with such different schedules. We’ve heard a lot of stories about trouble in their relationship, and this blind item may point to them. It’s got to suck when your movie bombs too, although Garner wasn’t the main headliner on Arthur.

Last week Garner dished on her sex scenes with Russell Brand in Arthur. She said “I’m very familiar, in my own way, with the anatomy of Russell Brand — and it’s good.” He was wearing underwear, though, or she may have needed some antibiotics to stop that familiarity from itching.

Photo credit: Fame

For months we’ve been hearing about the 3D reboot (FOR REAL) of The Great Gatsby, which is slated to be directed by Baz Luhrmann, of Moulin Rouge fame. Baz got his Romeo + Juliet buddy Leonardo DiCaprio slated to play Gatsby, and since then, everybody is auditioning or talking about auditioning for various roles. My favorite rumors were about Blake Lively “auditioning” for the part of Daisy Buchanan – all of the reports made it sound like Blake was willing to do anything for the part of Daisy, or for the part of Leo’s sexual partner. Anyway, that role ended up going to Carey Mulligan, an actress who can actually, you know, ACT. So now the focus is on who will get the other two major roles – that of Nick Carraway, the novel’s narrator, and Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s philandering husband (does that need a SPOILER?). While many think Tobey Maguire – an old friend of Leo’s – will end up as Nick, the latest rumor is… Ben Affleck as Tom! It’s kind of a great choice, right?

So we beat on, boats against the current… with Ben Affleck in a 3D big screen adaptation of what is perhaps the Great American Novel.

Deadline reports that Affleck is in talks to join the star studded, Baz Luhrmann-directed epic “The Great Gatsby,” negotiating to play the part of Tom Buchanan. Tom Buchanan is Daisy Buchanan’s philandering husband, a rich but emotionally shallow man.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Affleck and the film’s producers must work around a scheduling conflict; he’s slated to direct his next film, “Argo,” this fall, around the time Luhrmann intends on kicking off “Gatsby.”

If Affleck sign on, he’ll be joining a cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. The film will shoot in Australia and be shot in 3D.

Affleck was last seen in the recession drama, “The Company Men,” about a man who loses his job but finds something bigger.

[From The Huffington Post]

I haven’t read the book in a decade, but from what I remember, this is really, really great casting. Tom is supposed to be a big, enthusiastic, old-money kind of douchebag and Ben could land that very convincingly, in my opinion. Plus, I’m sure he would be able to nail the philandering part too, right? Wouldn’t it have been funny if Blake Lively was still up for the role of Daisy? Oh, I can just see all of Jennifer Garner’s Dimple Parade photo ops now! But Garner won’t have anything to worry about from Carey Mulligan, I would think. But we’ll have to see who gets cast as Tom’s mistress, right?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

The Daily Mail has a maybe-new interview with Ben Affleck, posted to coincide with the UK DVD release of The Town. (It’s possible it was conducted back in September when the movie was first out in England, but it’s hard to tell from their description.) Affleck talks at length about the process he went through to research the movie, which included spending hours talking to convicted robbers from Charlestown, the neighborhood in Boston that was portrayed in the film. He also said that his best friend, Matt Damon, viewed the film in five different stages of completion and gave him “pages of very smart notes” of where to go with it.

On how Matt Damon helped with The Town
We’ve been friends for 30 years. I can’t believe I’m old enough to say I’ve had a friend for 30 years. But he is a friend, and a partner in a company we have together. He saw The Town in five different versions and each time he saw it he presented me with pages and pages of very smart notes. I’ve got to a stage in life where I have learnt who my real friends are. You don’t need many, you just need good, solid friends. My brother, Casey, is another one and my godfather is a really brilliant guy.

On his research for the film with convicted robbers
I spent hours just talking to the inmates. I developed an excellent relationship with the authorities and we shot one scene in a real maximum-security prison. When you walk in you can just feel decades of sorrow and pain, anxiety and terror, loneliness and misery.

I met one guy who had served 15 years before being released. I asked him to audition for a part in the movie, but I remember being pretty intimidated by him. Then he came in and read and he was amazing. He said, ‘My daughter told me if I get in the movie I’ll be a millionaire.’ I said, ‘You know what, you’re not going to be a millionaire but we’re going to put you in the movie and see what happens.’ It changed his life. There are guys in that movie who have been nothing all their lives. Now they are legends at home.

On why he’s a good poker player
Maths aside, it is really a game about knowing yourself and reading other people. There are all these tiny nuances of human behaviour you can tap into, which is why so many actors get into it. Actors are good at it because they learn to detect truth. Tobey Maguire is a better poker player than most poker professionals – he’s a genius. It’s mesmerising to watch him.

On how he’s content with life
You make mistakes in life and that is what learning and growing up is about. In the movie business it is very easy to get carried away. But now it is nice to be in a place where I feel lucky with my family and really blessed.

Failure is just a function of risk. I look at my great heroes as actors and directors and none of them have perfect records. I imagine I will have an even more imperfect record. I think you have to still be brave enough to take risks. Today I am enjoying the success. Being number one at the box office is pretty cool. But I’ve been round the block enough times to know it won’t last forever.

[From The Daily Mail]

This begs the question: how much of Damon’s input was used in The Town (which should have earned an Oscar nomination)? I’m sure Affleck is a talented director, and Damon has said as much, but how much of The Town can we credit to Damon? Like those excellent, close up car chase scenes through the labyrinthian streets of Boston bore a certain resemblance to the chase scenes in Prague Paris that were shown in The Bourne Identity. I’ll admit to stirring the pot on this one, but that really occurred to me when I saw the movie.

Also I’m impressed with how Affleck has grown as an actor and family man. He has a good head on his shoulders now and has definitely matured. It’s nice to see his career pick up again.

Thanks to Kaiser for the lead!

Ben Affleck is shown at the BAFTA Awards on 1/15/11. Matt Damon is shown on the LA set of “We Bought a Zoo” on 1/25 and 1/26/11. Credit: WENN.com

Isn’t my Hamm lovely? I love it when he makes faces. Yes, Jon Hamm on the red carpet will never be quite as hot as Don Draper being slapped by a hooker, but it’s still the highlight of my day. These are all photos from the National Board of Review awards ceremony last night. All of the A-listers showed up. Well, not ALL, but many. And Blake Lively was there too (hahaha). Before we get to the other stuff, let’s just enjoy The Hamm.

Okay, and now the big scandal (if you believe it). The Town was being honored with something, and Ben Affleck, the director was there, as was much of the cast, like Jon Hamm up there, and Blake Lively. As you may remember, Ben and Blake were rumored to have an affair on set. Personally, I believed the rumors. Some of you didn’t. That’s fine. But it’s interesting that at every public event in which Blake and Ben are promoting the film, Jennifer Garner shows up too. Like she’s keeping her eye on things. All three – Blake, Ben and Jennifer – posed separately. Considering how desperate Blake has been lately, I think it was probably pretty smart for Jennifer to show up. Blake’s charms seem to have fallen flat on Ryan Gosling (after a while, at least), and Leonardo DiCaprio, but Ben… well, I just have a feeling that Blake is exactly the kind of trashy blonde he prefers to the wholesome mother of his children. Let’s see Blake first:

And Ben doesn’t look happy that his wife and potential jumpoff are in the same room at all.

CB says Jennifer needs to stop Botoxing. I’m not seeing that so much as her out-of-control lips. She really needs to stop with the lip stuff, she’s starting to look Nicole Kidman-esque.

Christian Bale isn’t involved in the new Bermuda Triangle, but I think he looks really nice here. I’m not a huge fan of the Jesus look on him (or in general), but this is one of his better red carpet looks.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Here’s Ben Affleck getting annoyed at the paparazzi while out getting froyo in Santa Monica yesterday with his wife Jennifer Garner and their oldest daughter Violet, five. Ben is sporting a beard that we also saw during his family vacation in Hawaii over the holidays. (Photos are here. While Garner rocked a red bikini we sadly didn’t get to see Ben without his shirt on.)

I finally saw The Town over the holidays and I have to say I was blown away. Kaiser says that Affleck is a better director than he is an actor. He did play a meaty role that he might not have been able to score on his own, but we also have to give him credit for stepping aside and letting his costars, like Jeremy Renner and Jon Hamm, shine. I thought he did an excellent job, and I also found my girlhood (ok, early 20s) crush on Ben renewed. The guy is gorgeous and there’s something troubled about him, or maybe he just played that character with such subtly that I found myself thinking he was playing himself. I like Ben and I’d love to see him get an Oscar nom for best director. That’s really where his talent lies, but he’s a decent actor too.

Does he work that beard though? Hell no, the guy has a gorgeous face. Maybe he’s trying to go incognito given how much the paparazzi hound him and his family. It doesn’t look like it’s working. Shave it, Ben!

Also, how cute are those glasses on Violet?

Credit to Kaiser for that title! Photos are credit: WENN.com

Call me crazy, but I think Country Strong is going to go down as one of Gwyneth Paltrow’s biggest career blunders. Granted, I don’t see how any significant number of people will actually pay to sit through Gwyneth’s slurry Brit-Brit twang, nor her incredibly awkward and hilarious dance moves. But Gwyneth is still talking, still promoting, still trying to entice us into watching her shake her vitamin-deficient booty. She already sanctimoniously gooped about motherhood, and now she’s bringing out the big guns: she’s giving quotes (well, a quote) about her relationships with Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck. Oh, GOOP. It’s like you want us to think it’s 1997 again.

Long before she settled down with British rocker husband Chris Martin (they have kids Apple, 6, and Moses, 4), Gwyneth Paltrow was one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelorettes — and her beaus included both Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck.

In a new E! special, Gwyneth Paltrow, that aired Wednesday night, the Country Strong star, 38, admits those high-profile, late-90s romances were kind of weird.

“It was strange to be part of a public couple,” she says in the interview.

The profile also reveals that Paltrow’s road to Hollywood wasn’t as easy as some might expect. Although she is the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and late director Bruce Paltrow, she didn’t get a free ride while she waited for her big break.

“We could have paid for everything and had a spoiled kid,” mother Danner says. “[But] I think it’s really important for people to work hard.”

Paltrow admits: “I would say ‘Dad, I can’t go out to dinner, I have no money,’ and he would say ‘you’re welcome to come over here and eat at our house anytime, but I’m not giving you money for your social life.’”

Plus, the star sheds new light on her struggle with post-partum depression following son Moses’ birth in 2006. “You don’t want anybody to know that you’re depressed or crying all the time, ” she said. “There’s this shame that we bring to it and it’s incredibly debilitating and scary and you just don’t feel like yourself.”

[From Us Weekly]

So it was just the one solitary quote about Pitt & Affleck… for now. She probably has a few more things to say about them, but E! just hasn’t released the quotes yet.

But anyway… this whole thing, the random quote and looking up these old photos… it’s made me incredibly nostalgic. Remember when Gwyneth was the Queen Bee? Remember when everyone was obsessed with her? Remember how friggin’ snotty she was even back then? Good times. Nowadays… well, do you think Gwyneth ever feels the pang of nostalgia, ever wishes she could go back and be The It Girl? I bet she does.

Photos courtesy of WENN.