Sheffield during the Snooker World Championships is chock full of players and pundits , Matthew Stevens with some hangers-on , John Virgo and of course Willie Thorne - if no-one else has read his rather thin autobiography from a few years ago then he details his gambling addiction at length and talks about how he has kicked the habit , which is news to all those in the nearby Ladbrokes round the corner from the Crucible , pity really , seems a decent bloke but has lied to himself about his problems i feel
Not in person, but I've played online poker at the same table as Steve Davis, Helen 'Hells Bells' Chamberlain and Michaela Tabb on separate occasions.
Don't know if she was pissed or just friendly, but I got chatting to Michaela and ended up with her email address and a promise of first-round tickets next time there's a tournament in Scotland! Yet to follow it up, though...
I once played blackjack next to the wrestler and now movie star "The Rock" at the Luxor Las Vegas. It was about 6 years ago now. He had two beautiful girls with him, one on each arm...
We only played together for about 10-15 minutes... but he was great fun. I think he made about a grand - he was betting $100 US a time.