Trishelle Cannatella is an unabashed poker fan and was busy building a stack on Day 1 of a $1,500 tournament at the WSOP on Saturday.
“The World Series of Poker is the most important poker tournament in the world,” she said. “All the best pros from around the world come to play this tournament.”
Cannatella, who was a major character in reality shows Real World: Las Vegas and The Surreal Life, has always kept a close connection to the poker world.
Catching the Poker Bug at WPT Invitational
She finished third in the 2010 WPT Celebrity Invitational, dated poker pro Sam Chartier and is currently sponsored by PlayGround Poker Club in Montreal.
“I’ve played all over the world but I wouldn’t consider myself a pro,” she said.
Despite her modesty Cannatella is still one of select few celebrities that is brave enough to make the trek to Las Vegas and play with the big boys (and girls).
It’s something she doesn’t understand because in her experience actors love poker.
“I’m not sure why more celebrities don’t come to the WSOP and play all the events,” she said.
“Whenever I play the WPT Invitational there are so many famous people and they are excited to meet players like Phil Laak and Antonio [Esfandiari].”
One such fan? Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul.
“I know for a fact Aaron Paul is a huge poker fan,” she said.
“Before he was even on [Breaking Bad] I played home games with him in LA when he was like a starving actor. I remember playing poker on the floor of his apartment.”
Suffice to say Paul probably doesn’t play poker on his floor anymore thanks to his breakout success in Breaking Bad and subsequent feature films.
Cannatella: “A Poker Reality Show Would Be Huge”
As a reality star and a poker player Cannatella is in a unique spot to help grow the game of poker and she has at least one idea of how to reinvigorate the game in the United States.
“In France they have a reality show where they all live together while playing a tournament,” he said. “I don’t understand why they don’t do that in the United States as a reality show.
“As a television personality I think that would be huge. It would be such a fun show to watch. I think the different personalities of poker - there are so many interesting people - that putting them all together in a house would be VERY interesting.”
For the time being though, Cannatella is very impressed with what Vanessa Selbst has accomplished for women in poker.
“Vanessa Selbst has done so much for poker just by herself,” she said. “People see Vanessa winning everything and girls are like “‘I want to be like her. I want to start playing poker.’”
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