Documentary Chronicles Rise of Poker
A documentary about poker that was made three years ago will finally see the theatrical light of day later this month.
The film, titled "All In: The Poker Movie," chronicles the rise of poker's popularity and includes interviews not only with professional poker players but also with political and social commentators who weigh in on the larger meaning of poker.
The movie, produced and directed by documentary film maker Douglas Tirola of 4th Row Films, was shown once at a film festival in Las Vegas in 2009, but that was the extent of its public screenings.
It is now set for selected theatrical release in the U.S. on Friday, March 23, 2012.
According to the film's website, www.allinthepokermovie.com, poker pros interviewed in the movie include Phil "Poker Brat" Hellmuth Jr., Annie Duke, Chris Moneymaker, Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston Jr., Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Phil "Unabomber" Laak, Joe Hachem, Howard "The Professor" Lederer, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Erik Seidel, Isabelle Mercier, Vanessa Rousso, Jen Tilly, Vince van Patten and Mike Sexton.
Commentators interviewed include presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, National Public Radio host Ira Glass, sportswriters Frank DeFord and Burt Sugar and poker scribe James McManus.
Seemingly anyone with any connection to poker or gambling was fair game to be interviewed, as also appearing in the flick are actor Matt Damon, who starred in the 1998 poker movie "Rounders," and singer Kenny Rogers, who had a hit single in 1978 called "The Gambler" that implored poker players to "know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em."
Former U.S. Senator Al D'Amato, now the country's top lobbyist for legalizing online poker, also chimes in, as does former University of Louisville basketball coach Denny Crum, who now runs poker tournaments, and screenwriter Brian Koppelman, who co-wrote "Rounders."
According to the film's website, "All In: The Poker Movie" is the story of "the worldwide poker boom that started in the underground clubs of New York City and went on to be played at homes and casinos all around the globe."
The blurb continues, revealing that the documentary chronicles "poker's renaissance in the first decade of the new millennium, from a game once played only by grandparents and teenagers unable to get a date on Friday night to a nationally televised sport played by millions and watched by millions more.
"An activity so hip that even Matt Damon, George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio have a regular game. Played in casinos, basements, online, in college dorms or at charity events, poker is everywhere. The films explains the tipping story to the events and people that came together to make poker so popular that you could see it being played on twelve television networks a week.
"This documentary weaves the quest for the American Dream, the ability to take risks and the celebration of entrepreneurship with a game that began with conmen on riverboats and ended up being played by presidents. Poker has become a metaphor for making it big quick, and though millions play it, poker seems unable to escape its cinematic image of something done by people on the outside of society...(The movie) tells the story of how poker has come to be a part of mainstream culture while also exploring how poker satisfies our desire to play, win and shape our identities as individuals."
For a list of theaters that will be showing the film, visit the film's website.
In a related item, the theatrical opening of another movie about gambling, called "Lay the Favorite" and about sports betting, has been pushed back to the fall.
By Tom Somach
Gambling911.com Staff Writer
