Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Maybe they need some more tips from poker expert Phil Gordon

Macaulay Culkin and Hank Azaria have both appeared on Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," but apparently they prefer a lower-profile venue.
Very low-profile.

We hear that Culkin, 24, and Azaria, 40, showed up together the other night at a secret poker game on the upper West Side and tried their luck at the $20 ante table.

"They were there for at least an hour and a half. I didn't see them win at all," observed a spy who attends regularly.

Apparently the ritzy gambling lounge, which sits above an Off-Track Betting shop in the W. 70s and accommodates about 100 players, is well-known to local wealthy business types.

But that doesn't necessarily make it legal: Because the owners take a percentage of every table's "rake," it likely constitutes a felony.

"The law says that if there is a house, someone making a profit, that is not the same as four or five people getting together and playing a friendly game," explained Manhattan district attorney spokeswoman Barbara Thompson. "Promoting gambling in the first degree is when you engage in bookmaking and receive bets totaling $5,000 or more. That's an E felony, which is up to four years in prison."

Azaria's PR rep confirmed he attended the game, but declined further comment. A publicist for Culkin didn't reach the actor by deadline.

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