ShareMatthew Perry has died at the age of 54. The Canadian actor who shot to stardom in the hit series Friends was found unresponsive in an outdoor hot tub and is suspected to have drowned. Police say there were no signs of foul play.
Perry suffered from addiction issues with alcohol and opiates, issues which were highly publicised, but neither substance was found at the scene.
Matthew Perry the Poker Fan
In breaks between working on his on-screen career, Perry was a semi-regular at the poker tables.
We first saw him playing in the much-loved Celebrity Poker Showdown which aired from 2003 to 2006. Perry played in the second event but busted in third place.
He was also invited to the fourth tournament and won Game 1 to claim a seat in The Championship Game which was won by Mekhi Phifer.
Hendon Mob shows that Perry won $15,000 from these events, his only live tournament scores on record.
But we do know that he was keen on playing cash games in casinos, occasionally.
In 2015 Perry was spotted blowing $20,000 in minutes at LA’s Commerce Casino. He rocked up at 7am with two $10k bricks, holding a Starbucks coffee, and proceeded to burn through it in no time at all.
When the photos of him not looking his best appeared in tabloid magazines, he explained that he always wakes up at 5am and just wanted to pass some time while the casino was quiet.
“For some reason at five o’clock in the morning my eyes just pop open… At 5 o'clock in the morning, I am awake, so I figured, there won't be any traffic, there won't be anybody in the casino, I'll go, and I'll gamble for a little bit…”
He added that while he does like to play occasionally, nobody ever bothers to write about the times that he wins.
And with a reputed net worth of more than $70 million, we can safely assume that a $20,000 loss wasn’t going to bother him much.
Matthew Perry's legacy will live on in the hearts of many, and he will be missed. Our deepest condolences go out to his family, loved ones, and all of his devoted fans.
