You may know her as Tiffany Valentine from the Chucky films, but Jennifer Tilly is a poker legend outside of Hollywood. The Oscar-nominated star is an inductee of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame and a WSOP bracelet winner. In this article, we look closer at her impressive career on the green felt and her love affair with the poker game.
Early beginnings
Tilly’s official poker career spans from 2004 to 2008 and from 2010 to the present. It’s a career that has seen her play live casino poker many times and accrue over $1 million in winnings, but it didn’t start there.
Tilly was introduced to poker at an early age through her father, Harry Chan, who played casually at home and was a gambler. Chan gave Tilly her first World Series of Poker video game, which sparked a lifelong passion.
Moving to Hollywood
Although Tilly interacted with poker from a young age, it wasn’t until she moved to Hollywood that she got serious about it. In 2004, she met her long-time partner, poker legend Phil ‘The Unabomber’ Laak, at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. Tilly had been there to compete in the WPT Celebrity Invitational. Laak started to coach her in the game, teaching her the rules and techniques and preparing her for a professional poker career.
First WSOP win
On June 5, 2005, a year after meeting Laak, Tilly competed and won her first World Series of Poker tournament. She beat out 600 competitors in the Ladies’ No Limit Texas Hold’em event to win a bracelet and $158,625 in award money. The win made Tilly the first celebrity to win a WSOP bracelet and the tournament. Later that year, she won the World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational Tournament, cementing her position as a fast-rising poker star.
Professional poker
The years between Tilly’s first WSOP win and retirement in 2010 are some of the most legendary in poker history. During this time, she:
· Appeared in the GSN Poker Royale series
· Came in third in the Celebrity Poker Showdown of 2006
· Played in many high-stakes poker tournaments, including Poker After Dark, the WPT, and the High Stakes Poker series
· Became a poker celebrity
· Appeared in the WSOP video game
Tilly is credited with being the first celebrity to transition into professional poker successfully
Retirement in 2008 and return to the tables
In 2008, citing mental exhaustion, Tilly took a step back from poker. She returned in 2010 and continued her winning ways, establishing herself as an aggressive and unpredictable player.
By 2019, Tilly had won $1 million in live poker winnings. In 2022, she was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame alongside other legends Angelica Hael and Terry King.
Wrapping up: A legend for the books
Tilly continues to divide her time between her acting career, which has been equally successful, and poker. She remains an inspiration to millions of women across the globe who can now access poker through online platforms like Betway but don’t know if they can make it. She is proof that hard work, perseverance, talent, and a little bit of luck are all you need to dominate the green felt and make history.