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Now that social media has become such a massive force, influencers like Tana Mongeau make a fortune from sponsored posts. On top of that, there is a long history of stars making so much money from sponsorship deals that it is a huge deal when they lose them.With all of that in mind, it should go without saying that companies typically love being associated with famous people. Similarly, if stars show up at restaurants or other businesses, managers and owners usually bend over backward to make them happy.Since stars typically get the red carpet treatment when they show up at places like restaurants, it is always fascinating when a celebrity gets kicked out of a business. After all, stars like Nicolas Cage have to do something outrageous to be kicked out of a restaurant.Amazingly enough, instead of being asked to leave a business for a night, Ben Affleck seemingly was banned from playing blackjack at a casino. That leaves people with one question, what did Affleck do to get banned?
Why Was Ben Affleck Banned From The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino?
At this point in Ben Affleck's life, the talented actor, writer, and director seems happier than at any time in the past. After marrying Jennifer Lopez and building a life with his new wife, Affleck appears to be much more at peace with himself.
Before Affleck entered this newest stage in his life, he did something surprising and courageous. After many years of putting up that movie star facade, Affleck spoke publicly about battling his addictions and the mistakes he has made in his life.
While it was very admirable for Affleck to speak openly about his downfalls, the truth is that his vices weren't a well-kept secret. Instead, Affleck's past partying ways inspired several scandalous headlines over the years.
During the years that Affleck's nighttime activities were under the spotlight, it became clear that he also enjoyed gambling. Often seen playing in poker tournaments, Affleck even won one of them which netted him $355,000. On top of that, his win qualified him to compete in the World Poker Tour Championship.
Clearly, a force to be reckoned with at the card table, it makes sense that Affleck enjoyed hitting up the casinos. However, at least one of those establishments didn't like seeing Affleck coming since he was partially banned at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in 2014.
According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, Affleck was banned from playing blackjack after casino employees accused him of "counting cards". However, the same report cited an inside source about the situation, and they had a different take.
On the night that Affleck was banned, he was accompanied by his then-wife Jennifer Garner. According to the inside source, the casino was "very nice to them", allowed Affleck to play other games, and even ordered the couple a car.
However, the source didn't paint the casino in an entirely bright light. After all, they claimed that Affleck's ban was motivated because the movie star was “too good at the game”. Considering that casinos certainly take the money of players who are bad at games, banning someone for that reason just seems wrong.
How Good Was Ben Affleck At Blackjack?
Based on The Hollywood Reporter's report about Ben Affleck being banned from playing blackjack, some people may assume he only wasn't able to play that one time. However, that doesn't seem to be the case based on what Affleck told Details after the incident.
During the aforementioned interview, Affleck started by confirming he really was banned from blackjack as the report indicated. From there, Affleck went on to explain how he got so good at blackjack and then went on to complain about how casinos reacted to Ben's card-playing skills.
“That is a true story. I took some time to learn the game and became a decent blackjack player. And once I became decent, the casinos asked me not to play blackjack. I mean, the fact that being good at the game is against the rules at the casinos should tell you something about casinos.”
Based on Affleck's comments, it seems like he was banned from playing blackjack at multiple establishments since he referred to casinos. On top of that, the fact that Affleck's statement arguably implies he wasn't able to play blackjack going forward.
Considering that Affleck seemingly was banned from playing blackjack for being too good and he clearly was an excellent poker player, that begs an obvious question. Why was Affleck allowed to continue playing poker?