From the grandiose casinos in Las Vegas to £1 deposit casino UK online sites, people flock to casinos to play their favourite games for fun or take a shot at earning some bucks. Football players are not exempted. Despite playing one of the biggest sports in the world, which happens to take most of their time, some top professional football players still take their time to blow off some steam and play their favourite casino games like Blackjack, Roulette, Poker, Slots and Baccarat.
Football players have a particular edge in playing casino games in that they have more funds compared to most players, which means that they can try various strategies and approaches to the various casino games. Of course, taking the high roll doesn't mean you're guaranteed to win. A few football stars have been declared bankrupt after gambling away their fortune. Here are the popular games that can be found at casinos that are frequently played by top football stars.
Poker
This happens to be the most professionally played casino game with hundreds of tournaments being held yearly. It also requires the most skills among the popular table games. Therefore, it's of no surprise that football players love playing the game especially the Texas Hold'em variant which is the simplest and most popular. One of the most successful players both in football and in the game of Poker, Pique, once said, in an interview, that playing poker and football gives him similar feelings. That shows how great the table game is.Neymar Jr, the famous Brazilian football trickster has consistently shown that he has skills not just in the great game of football but also in poker. His skills have made him even become acknowledged by PokerStars and he now serves as one of their representatives. He most recently cashed out his highest winning in January 2022 by participating in the PokerStars winter series where he walked home with a massive $125,678! after placing third. He also won another $23,884 in the same winter series.
Various other football stars like Gianluigi Buffon, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andriy Shevchenko and Max Kruse also play poker at land-based casinos or Gamblorium-verified online casino sites.
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Roulette
The red and black table has been visited frequently by players. Unlike poker, it requires more luck than skill although various strategies may be applied to increase your chances of winning. This is particularly advantageous to football stars who have access to more funds, which means that they can apply high-roller strategies with more chances of winning, like the James Bond strategy.Former midfielder and Manchester United legend, David Beckham has been seen walking into the Venetian, a land-based hotel and casino in Las Vegas, several times to play roulette. He has had his bad and good moments and was reported to have lost some thousand dollars before. However, in 2015, he cashed out $40,000 at the Venetian when he went there to play roulette with his ex-wife.
Popular football star Mario Balotelli once won about £25,000 at the table and gave out £1,000 to a homeless man outside the casino after his win.
The biggest win from a football player should be from Terry Bradshaw. He won a total of 3 million dollars on two different occasions in 1997.
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Blackjack
Only poker requires more skills to play than blackjack. It is also the only table game where you play directly against the house and not other players. The simple rule of blackjack is "beat the dealer", which means outsmarting the dealer.One of the most intelligent and greatest players in football, Messi has been known to gamble occasionally, and Blackjack is his go-to table game. He mostly plays it for the thrill, and as you'd expect, he outsmarts the dealer frequently and has bagged some big wins.
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Slots
Slots dominate most casinos, from land-based ones to online casinos, as they come in hundreds and even thousands if you happen to be playing at an online casino. One of the advantages of playing slots is that you can find a slot game among the thousands that has the same theme you have in mind. From the fruity themes and traditional slot machines to special video slots for the most popular video games and movie franchises. Playing slot games is easy as it relies on just luck and no skill, unlike what you may have seen in the Ocean franchise.There's a very good chance you're playing against Cristiano Ronaldo if you see a similar username like "C.Ronaldo" or "CR7". CR7, as he's popularly called, is one of the greatest athletes in world football, with several individual awards and trophies in his cabinet. He frequently plays slot machines, especially when he's travelling across long distances. Former Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge has also been known to play slot machines frequently.
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Baccarat
Baccarat is the most complex of the table games in terms of rules. It isn't as widespread and popular as other casino games. However, once you get a mastery of the elite game, you'll love it. A case of addiction among players was even noted among players at casinos in Macau in 2014.Only the most elite among card players are usually seen behind the Baccarat pallet. Excellent poker players that are very good at card counting usually succeed well at Baccarat, also. Neymar and Gerard Pique are among the most popular football stars that play baccarat.
Former English forward David Bentley, who played for a host of premier league clubs like Tottenham Hotspur and Blackburn Rovers, was particularly good at Baccarat and made some fortune off the game.
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Conclusion
Casino games are loved by all and sundry, and this includes football players across all divisions. Football stars aren't excluded, as they have been frequently seen patronizing land-based casinos around Las Vegas and other places. Football Stars may play casino games just for fun, to earn some extra bucks or even as a charity event!The availability of online casino sites even makes this easier as they may play from the comfort of their home or while travelling long distances to play games. Some of them even have partnerships with some of the major online casino sites like PokerStars.
Given the access to comparatively larger funds, football stars have, they can comfortably play most games and utilize most strategies. Although, they have to be careful to manage their losses!
