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RoundersThe AnnouncementDamon, Norton Studied Card Sharks
Source: Entertainment Weekly, May 22, 1998 edition, pg. 12 Tuesday, May 5, 1998; 5:44 a.m. EDTLAS VEGAS (AP) -- Matt Damon and Edward Norton studied underground card sharks in New York for movie roles. Now they'll be tested on what they learned -- for real. The actors are expected to participate in next week's no-limit Texas Hold 'em final of the 29th annual World Series of Poker. "They are both serious poker players," tournament spokeswoman Lynne Loomis said. "They want to be treated just like everyone else during the poker tournament." Damon, who starred in Good Will Hunting and The Rainmaker, and Norton, of The People vs. Larry Flynt and Primal Fear, learned how to play poker in underground casinos in New York for the upcoming movie Rounders, about card sharks. The ResultsDamon, Norton at Poker World Series
Photo source: Entertainment Tonight website MAY 12, 03:15 EDTLAS VEGAS (AP) -- The annual World Series of Poker got a royal flush when red-hot actors Matt Damon and Ed Norton showed up to do a little card sharking. The actors, who play poker players in the upcoming movie Rounders, entered the no-limit Texas Hold'em contest, which has an estimated purse of $1 million. The duo tried to fit in on Monday with the other 350 players in the no-limit Texas Hold'em event, but that didn't work for long. Hordes of reporters and giggling girls swarmed about the poker room with flashing cameras and questions. Damon was seated at a table with one of the country's top poker players, Doyle Brunson, 64. "I just don't want to be the first one out," Damon told Brunson as they greeted each other. After about two hours of play, Damon was down $50 and Norton was out. Just more than an hour later, Damon was also out. "We never once entertained the fantasy of actually winning," Damon said. Norton fired back: "Speak for yourself." Entertainment Tonight
Photo source: Entertainment Tonight website
Entertainment Tonight (05/12/98) had a segment on Matt Damon and EN at the poker event (They called it "Matt and Ed's Excellent Poker Adventure!"- remember they said it , not me). It showed EN and MD at the table. Norton said nothing (at least nothing that made it on the air in the short segment) and MD said the he knew he was going to lose but he felt that he lost to the best guy in the world and in exact way he wanted to and he's going home with a story to tell. ET mentioned that Rounders will be coming to theaters in September. The ET website has more on the interview. It also has a quicktime movie (of MD at the table), a Real Audio quote by Damon, and head shots of each of them (from the poker event). Take a look at just the interview ESPNESPN televised (7/11/98) an hour-long program covering the crucial hands that went on at the final table of the Texas Hold'em (No Limit) of the 1998 World Series of Poker. At the beginning of the program, the commentators flashed pictures of Damon and Norton and gave a brief plug for Rounders. Partway through the poker action, they showed an interview with Damon and Norton along with scenes of each of them participating in the WSOP. During a scene at the poker table, Damon gave his own little plug for ESPN: "Watch the World Series of Poker right here on ESPN," looking at his cards, "not with a hand like that though." Damon said it was adrenaline rush and that they were probably the only players that never entertained the fatasy of winning. They both described their final hands- Damon held pocket kings which lost to Doyle Brunson's (considered one of the best high-stakes poker players and author of "Doyle Brunson's Super System") pocket aces, while Norton held a full house and lost to a man with four tens (I think his name was something like "Surrender", although maybe I was just projecting it). When asked how the about poker players at this event, Norton said that it was like anything else at the highest levels, like Wimbledon and [Garry] Kasparov and [Anatoly] Karpov in the chess tournaments. He said that "it was a very sophisticated game that operates on a lot of levels: mathematical, strategic, psychological...there maybe luck on any given hand, but over time, the really terrific players will crush you...It's like hitting with Ivan Lendl, you are totally outmatched and you can feel it." Damon added to this by saying that "that is where the rush comes from. It's like trying to swing at Roger Clemens' fast ball. You might get a hold of one and you might hit it really far, but how often does that happen." When asked if they're hooked and if they'll come back, Damon said "We'll come back if they'll have us back." while Norton said "Anytime they want to stake us to stake us $10,000.." Damon finished the sentence"...we'll be back to lose it." Name captions flashed under each as they talked mentioned that Norton "Finished second in charity game" while Damon "Pressed two World Champions". I'm not sure what was meant by the "charity game". This could refer to the WSOP Press Invitational which occured on Sunday, May 10, the day before the beginning of the World Championship, although Norton's name is not mentioned on the page that covered the event. Split ScreenThe Independent Film Channel's series "Split Screen" starts its third season (episode #21) with a segment on Matt Damon and Edward Norton partcipating in the World Series of Poker. It premiered on IFC on Monday, but it repeats on Saturday, August 29 @5:30pm. Visit the IFC website for more information! It does contain some clips, but the one mentioned to have Matt Damon seems to be missing. IFC's sister network Bravo has "IFC Fridays" where
Bravo shows IFC movies and programs. Split Screen #21 will show on Bravo on Friday,
August 28 @ 11:30PM & 4:30AM.
For a small Rounders page and rules on Texas Hold'em, visit the Poker World site. 1998 World Series of Poker- host site for the eventRounders PageMain Page || Biography || News || Films || Articles || Photo Gallery || Multimedia || Site Map || Website UpdatesIf you have new information on Edward Norton (and you can provide a verifiable and reputable source), please email me- Susan Note: Articles and images have been posted without permission for noncommercial and nonprofit use
with no intention of copyright infringement. The purpose of this reprinting is to disseminate correct information about the
actors, films, and studios. I have included author names and links to sources whenever possible.
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