Femme Fatale
With her classic Hollywood good looks, Shannon Elizabeth might look out of place at the poker table. However, her habitual smiting of smug male players paints a far different picture.
Forever etched in movie folklore as Nadia the sexually voracious, Slovakian exchange student in American Pie, Shannon Elizabeth has recently turned her feminine charms to the game of poker. Starting out by playing as a means to help her charity – Animal Avengers – the Hollywood starlet has now taken her game all the way to three cashes in the 2006 World Series of Poker.
We spoke with the alluring Miss Elizabeth about her experiences at the WSOP, the feeling of hitting a straight flush without realising, and the challenge of resisting Burt Reynolds during the shooting of the new poker film Deal.
First of all, congratulations on your great performance at this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP)! How did you enjoy the experience?
It was a whole lot of fun. It was the first year I’d played events besides the Main Event, and I cashed in three of them, which was great. I thought I could have got a little deeper into one or two of the events, but I still learned a lot. More than anything, it’s about learning each time I play so that I can keep improving my game.
How would you describe a WSOP tournament as opposed to anything you’ve done before?
Technically it’s not any different from other tournaments, although I will say that the WSOP events are very well run. There’s a perception that with the number of people at the WSOP, the tension and pressure of playing is far greater than otherwise. Personally, I don’t think this is really the case, except maybe for the Main Event. You just can’t go into these events feeling like they’re such a big deal, otherwise you’re setting yourself up for failure.
There’s a great story about you being on the brink of elimination during one of the WSOP events and pulling off a miracle straight flush. Was that the best comeback of your career?
All I can say is, I certainly don’t think I’ve come up with hand like that at such a crucial time before. At the time of the hand, I was thinking only about cashing one more time, because I was right on the bubble and was getting blinded out of that hand. I hit a flush on the turn, but if the next card was a club, my opponent was going to have a higher flush. And that’s exactly what happened. I just dropped my head, I was so bummed. Then someone grabbed me and said, “Wait, you have a straight flush!” Even after I heard it, I didn’t want to see it in case they were wrong, I just believed them and said, “Let’s move on!” (laughs)
With the pressure of moments like that on the poker table, have you ever been tempted to whip out some of your Krav Maga (a fighting style taught by the Israeli military) moves?
You know, I did that [Krav Maga] years and years ago, I didn’t do it for that long and people have made it into a bigger deal than it ever was.
So you’re not a hardcore Israeli-trained killing machine? No, but I’m still one tough chick (laughs). When you’re playing poker you have to control your temper, unless that’s your persona. When I’m playing, I make sure not let it out and become a part of it at all.
In that case, do ever knowingly use your good looks and fame to your advantage at the table?
In the more professional games like the WSOP, I feel that I can use it to my advantage. I continuously hear guys at the table say that women don’t bluff. That’s crap. I’ve bluffed so many times and won so many pots by exploiting that exact stereotype. Trust me, if I can get a man to lay down a good hand when I’ve got nothing, I’ll be the first to show my cards and say, “Yeah you’re right, women don’t bluff!” Also, there are definitely times when men won’t push me around on certain hands because I’m a woman. For example, just before I hit the straight flush at the WSOP, I asked the table to ‘help’ me cash one last time. To my surprise they were very sympathetic, far more so than if I was ‘some guy’ out there. To be fair, I don’t see anything wrong with that in the sense that everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses and you have to use those to your advantage the best way you can.
Do you believe that your acting experience also gives you an edge?
I think acting definitely helps you in poker. Poker is a great thing for actors to get into, because it’s a great way to fill down time during shooting. For me, it’s become a kind of a second career, because it keeps my mind sharp, keeps me busy and it keeps me constantly learning, reading and studying. Some actors get into crocheting, I got into poker.
Having now been intimately involved the cinema and poker worlds, is it easier to exist in one than the other?
I think the world of poker is just like anything else. Every ‘world’ that I’ve been in can be compared to high school, because that’s what we all grew up knowing. Everybody has their friends and their cliques, there’s gossip and there’s things going on. The world of Hollywood is like that, the world of poker is like that. Any time you’ve got a circle of people continuously doing something, I’ve kind of found that people just go back to their roots. It’s just what you grew up knowing and doing, and whether you like it or not, that’s how it is. I don’t particularly like it, but you adapt to your environment.
You recently featured alongside Burt Reynolds in Deal. First of all, how hard was it to resist his masculine charms? (Laughs) I don’t know; it was pretty tough.
Has ‘the Bandit’ still got it?
He’s a very attractive, sophisticated man for his age. He’s the good looking guy we all remember. He’s clever and quick witted and funny. It was an honour to work with him.
What role do you play in the film?
In the film, Burt’s character is teaching a young ingenue how to win at poker. I play the love interest who is able to help this kid discover his drive for the game. Basically, I have such an effect on him that Burt is able to use me to help him.
Do you normally have that sort of effect on men?
I don’t think so (laughs).
You’re rumoured to be featured in a film called The Grand. Tell me about that...
The Grand is a mockumentary on the WSOP. I play Woody Harrellson’s love interest, and every poker playing character in the film is loosely based on one or two real life poker players. It should be a great film.
Do you see a time when you’ll play poker full time?
I still love acting, so I don’t know that I’ll ever quit. I still love playing poker because it allows me to turn down projects and not take a role out of boredom. That is, I can be far more discerning in my script choice.
Tell us about your charity...
My charity is called Animal Avengers. It’s an animal refuge I started in 2001, where we get animals off the street or the pound, and get them healthy and fit, and find good, loving permanent homes. I recently hosted a fundraiser in Hollywood, and hope for a good turnout to a poker event at Pure. We’re offering plenty of rebuys, so we hope raise as much as possible.
What else are you looking forward to in the future?
I’m really excited about recently signing with Full Tilt. They are going to sponsor the Aussie Millions, and I hope join them because it’s ten years since been I’ve there and Australia is one of my favourite places in the world. Watch out Down Under!
2 comments
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Posted by Kempo1987 – 14 Sep 2007, 1:25 PM
Looks like evryones getting into poker these days! i see her playing poker if her acting fails! i look forward to it :D
Posted by georgestam – 20 Oct 2007, 12:45 PM
I wish people would just stick to their own game, i'm getting fed up with people who know nothing about poker coming in and trying to take all the glory away from it