Valuetainment - Episode 173： FBI Takes Down Biggest Underground Poker Game - Molly Bloom's True Story

00:00:00.000 Look, if you like the game of poker, you're going to love today's podcast because this

00:00:20.240 could be one of the best stories ever in the game of poker and that has to do with Molly

00:00:23.860 Bloom.

00:00:24.240 Molly's movie came out called Molly's Game, which she went from being a skier to a massive

00:00:29.140 injury, to move into L.A., meeting a producer, director, and from there, she gets invited

00:00:35.280 to a private poker game and then eventually she starts her own private poker game, East

00:00:39.580 Coast, West Coast, and the buying ends up being quarter million to half a million dollars with

00:00:43.980 some of the biggest Hollywood names and billionaires in the world.

00:00:47.380 And she did all of this in her 20s and eventually FBI came after her.

00:00:51.980 She tells the entire story in this sit down.

00:00:54.620 So it's January 1st, okay, we're back, we're relaxing, we go to watch a movie that night,

00:01:00.760 January 1st, 2018, we watch this movie called Molly's Game, okay, and I leave, I am so fascinated

00:01:08.960 by this story that I said, I've got to find out who this girl is.

00:01:12.400 So I go on Twitter, I find her, I tweet her at 10.44 p.m., I get a message two days later,

00:01:18.540 we go back and forth and here we are sitting down with Molly in Colorado.

00:01:24.540 Thank you for taking the time and visiting with us.

00:01:26.540 Yeah.

00:01:27.540 Thank you for coming to Colorado.

00:01:28.540 So Molly, you are known as the Poker Princess. 0.92

00:01:31.540 That's the nickname.

00:01:32.540 They get you, right?

00:01:33.540 Yes.

00:01:34.540 Biggest business, they call it a $100 million business, you ran, you had all these people

00:01:38.580 that would come in, the biggest poker game in America, quarter million dollar buy-in.

00:01:44.620 How did this whole thing get started?

00:01:46.100 I mean, how did you go from who you were at?

00:01:48.220 Were you playing poker at six years old, eight years old with daddy?

00:01:51.220 Tell us that part of the story.

00:01:52.220 It was really sort of an accident.

00:01:56.200 My life plan was to go to the Olympics.

00:01:58.540 I skied for the U.S. ski team.

00:02:00.360 I was a very serious student and I had just taken the LSAT and done incredibly well.

00:02:05.780 I was in the process of applying to law schools when kind of a fluke accident happened on my

00:02:11.520 Olympic qualifier run.

00:02:13.280 I literally tripped on a stick, a pine bough inserted itself into my binding and my ski

00:02:18.500 pre-release.

00:02:19.500 I was really injured and that was the end of my ski career and it sort of made me question

00:02:25.560 everything that I was doing and so I wanted to take a little bit of time to really think

00:02:30.340 that through to think if this life plan was why I wanted to do so.

00:02:33.460 I went to LA, I got a bunch of jobs, I was a cocktail waitress, I was a personal assistant

00:02:40.460 and my boss at the time said, you know, I'm going to need you to serve drinks to my poker

00:02:44.280 game.

00:02:46.280 I remember Googling what kind of music do poker players like to listen to and trying to understand

00:02:51.960 them as a species because I had zero exposure.

00:02:54.460 Never.

00:02:55.460 You've never.

00:02:56.460 I played a hand of poker.

00:02:57.580 The only time I had seen anyone playing poker was in the movies that we've all seen and

00:03:03.920 I'm just like, what am I walking into?

00:03:07.820 And so when I showed up at the game, really quickly I realized this was not what I thought

00:03:13.580 it was.

00:03:14.580 I walk in the room and some of the most famous, wealthy and powerful men are seated around this

00:03:20.580 table.

00:03:21.580 That night.

00:03:22.580 So your first night, you go there, you're seeing everybody there.

00:03:24.820 Yes.

00:03:25.820 In that moment I was like, light bulb moment, this is an incredible way to build a network.

00:03:30.580 This is not an opportunity that a 22 year old girl from Loveland, Colorado generally gets.

00:03:37.160 And then also they're speaking freely and I'm like, this is access to people, this is access

00:03:41.460 to information.

00:03:42.920 And then at the end of the night, I made $3,000, which at that time was a, you know, a night.

00:03:48.740 Yeah.

00:03:49.740 I mean, at that time, and now again, you know, I would be ecstatic right now.

00:03:56.580 So I learned the game.

00:03:59.380 I learned as much as I could about the game.

00:04:01.860 I studied the guys for, you know, six months to kind of understand what the draw was here,

00:04:08.060 how I could turn this into a business for myself.

00:04:10.480 You say study.

00:04:11.480 What do you mean by study?

00:04:12.480 So you studied the way they were playing or are you doing research about them?

00:04:15.480 Both.

00:04:16.480 So I'm learning all the terminology so that I don't seem like an amateur.

00:04:18.480 Got it.

00:04:19.480 You know, and I'm learning how to talk shop with them.

00:04:22.480 And then I'm sort of observing them.

00:04:25.480 I realized a couple of things.

00:04:26.480 First of all, these guys didn't, they didn't want things anymore, right?

00:04:30.480 They could buy all the things that they want.

00:04:32.480 They wanted experiences.

00:04:33.480 And, and this gambling, it really took them outside of themselves.

00:04:38.480 It was escapism.

00:04:39.480 So it was this experience, this transformational experience, this, this, you know, escapism.

00:04:44.480 And so when I ultimately took over the game, the first thing I did was I built on that.

00:04:49.480 You know, I built on like, these guys want to feel like James Bond for a night.

00:04:52.480 They want to be different when they walk out of this room than they were when they walked out.

00:04:56.480 So you made them feel like James Bond for a night?

00:04:58.480 I tried.

00:04:59.480 Yeah.

00:05:00.480 That's so, now some of the names, the names are out.

00:05:02.480 Yeah.

00:05:03.480 The names are out.

00:05:04.480 So, you know, one of the players, Ruderman, ends up having a Ponzi scheme from trying to

00:05:09.480 get investments from other people.

00:05:10.480 That's right.

00:05:11.480 And he came out and told them, I think Toby McGuire's on that list.

00:05:14.480 Leonardo DiCaprio's on that list.

00:05:16.480 Ben Affleck's on that list.

00:05:17.480 I think A-Rod's on that list.

00:05:19.480 Alex Rodriguez.

00:05:20.480 And there's a few other guys that came out on that list.

00:05:22.480 So now, you have all these personalities.

00:05:23.480 Yes.

00:05:24.480 You're 25.

00:05:25.480 The one part that I watch, and I really want to get into the relationship with your father,

00:05:29.480 that whole thing with Jeremy Jordan and all that, I mean, that's such an incredible story

00:05:33.480 of you.

00:05:34.480 The first question I asked you when I came inside was about your dad.

00:05:36.480 Yeah.

00:05:37.480 So do you think you are dealing with all these big personalities?

00:05:40.480 Toby McGuire, which is known as being a, you know, there's a lot of words in the dictionary

00:05:45.480 that are not in the dictionary that they use for Toby.

00:05:48.480 You got DiCaprio, you got Affleck, you got Ben Affleck, you got Alex Roddy.

00:05:53.480 These are strong personality people.

00:05:55.480 You're 25.

00:05:56.480 How did you know how to lead and handle people like this?

00:05:59.480 Because I'm sure they're trying to bully you as well to try to control everything.

00:06:02.480 How did that relationship take place?

00:06:04.480 A large part of it, I think, was instinctual.

00:06:07.480 Through these games, through these experiences, I realized what I was actually good at, and

00:06:12.480 I hadn't really known that up until this point.

00:06:16.480 I, you know, I guess my, I have a higher EQ than probably, you know, like IQ.

00:06:24.480 Like, I have a really well-honed EQ, and I also came at it from a place of trying to understand

00:06:33.480 humans instead of just running a game and being procedural about it and sort of, you know,

00:06:38.480 just trying to run it, like, in this very procedural way.

00:06:41.480 I tried to really understand people, and what I saw so often is when all these negative manifestations

00:06:49.480 of personality emerges that what's behind it.

00:06:51.480 Or mirroring.

00:06:52.480 Yeah.

00:06:53.480 You're watching this.

00:06:54.480 Yeah.

00:06:55.480 You know, it's fear, and it's fear because they just lost a lot of money, fear because

00:07:00.480 they have a rivalry with someone.

00:07:02.480 And so I realized that if I could try to reduce that fear in them, that I could try to make

00:07:08.480 them feel safe or try to, you know, that that was generally the best way to deal with people,

00:07:14.480 particularly, like, when they would lose a lot of money, you know, instead of going

00:07:19.480 at them and being like, I need you to write that check right now, which is what a lot of

00:07:22.480 people do, just giving people the space, you know, just to be like, you know, call me when

00:07:27.480 you want, and you'll just come back and win as much, if not more, next time.

00:07:32.480 What are some of the craziest things you saw happening with this, you know, personality-wise?

00:07:36.480 Was it just regular personality?

00:07:38.480 Was it conversations where they fairly open with one another?

00:07:41.480 Or somebody's throwing a comment at Ben about JLo?

00:07:45.480 Or what was that part like?

00:07:47.480 Yeah, I mean, to tell you the truth, I was really focused on trying to preemptively squash

00:07:54.480 any drama before it happened, you know?

00:07:58.480 And so, like, I was really focused on that, but I have to give it to these guys for the

00:08:03.480 amount of money that was being gambled and, you know, sort of the personalities, they were

00:08:09.480 really civil with each other.

00:08:11.480 There was never a physical altercation.

00:08:13.480 There was a lot of, sort of, getting angry and stomping out, you know, but in terms of

00:08:20.480 people fighting with each other or physical altercations or whatever, like, they really

00:08:26.480 kept it pretty civil.

00:08:28.480 Interesting.

00:08:29.480 Yeah.

00:08:30.480 Was Toby's personality, the way that it's, you know, presented in the movie?

00:08:37.480 Was it fairly as accurate as it is in the movie?

00:08:40.480 Well, Aaron would really want me to say that the character, Player X, is a composite character.

00:08:47.480 And he's a character that Aaron wrote based on lots of different stories that, you know,

00:08:54.480 I told him.

00:08:55.480 There's a character in the book that's...

00:08:57.480 Player X.

00:08:58.480 Player X.

00:08:59.480 That's Toby.

00:09:00.480 Yeah.

00:09:01.480 And he was difficult.

00:09:03.480 He was very difficult.

00:09:04.480 He wanted to control and manage the situation.

00:09:06.480 He wanted to make sure he had edge in different ways, you know?

00:09:10.480 He wanted to be the only player at the table that locked it down and that was tight.

00:09:14.480 And he wanted everyone else to be giving action and gambling.

00:09:17.480 And he, you know, he put a couple players in and he was doing all this stuff that, in

00:09:24.480 order to gain edge.

00:09:26.480 And I shut it down and he didn't like that.

00:09:29.480 He didn't like it.

00:09:30.480 Now, let me ask you, how old was he at the time?

00:09:32.480 Because he's got to be similar age to you.

00:09:34.480 He's similar age to me.

00:09:35.480 I think he's like two years older than I am.

00:09:36.480 So it's not like he's a 40-year-old guy trying to, you know.

00:09:39.480 No.

00:09:40.480 Was he already the guy?

00:09:41.480 No.

00:09:42.480 Was he already a, he was already?

00:09:43.480 Yeah.

00:09:44.480 He was like at the height of his sort of fame and career.

00:09:47.480 And, you know, he's really smart.

00:09:49.480 Like I have to give it to him.

00:09:50.480 He's, I really, he's extremely bright.

00:09:53.480 And he also knew how to leverage that fame and that, and that position to gain power.

00:09:59.480 So, do you think a part of why you had a very easy time, let's just say, not easy

00:10:04.480 time, but more than an easy time than an average person would in an environment like this,

00:10:09.480 because you had a father that was very tough.

00:10:11.480 Yeah.

00:10:12.480 Do you think that helped out a lot?

00:10:13.480 I think having a father that was really tough and that, from a very young age, taught

00:10:19.480 me to overcome fear.

00:10:20.480 I got real comfortable with risk, you know.

00:10:22.480 Early on.

00:10:23.480 Early on.

00:10:24.480 Yeah, because we weren't allowed to have fear.

00:10:25.480 So what would, how would he shape your mind to not have any fear?

00:10:27.480 If I was afraid of something, he would force me to do it.

00:10:30.480 You know, like mobile skiing.

00:10:32.480 I remember he put me in the water to learn how to get up on one ski and I was in that

00:10:36.480 water until I got up, you know.

00:10:38.480 It was a lot of like teaching me how to suffer constructively in the face of trying to accomplish

00:10:42.480 something.

00:10:43.480 It was a lot of like standing on top of a cliff on my skis being this big and being

00:10:48.480 like, you're going to conquer your fear right now, you're going to jump off that cliff,

00:10:50.480 you know.

00:10:51.480 You're kidding me.

00:10:52.480 No.

00:10:53.480 Wow.

00:10:54.480 So, so was he like that with all of you?

00:10:55.480 With you, Jeremy and Jordan?

00:10:56.480 Oh yeah.

00:10:57.480 Yeah.

00:10:58.480 My brothers and I learned we had to, from an early age, conquer our fears.

00:11:03.480 And it was never an unsafe context. 0.91

00:11:06.480 And I'm really, you know, listen, like my dad's gotten some crap because of the character

00:11:14.480 that is portrayed by Costner.

00:11:17.480 But I'm glad that my dad did that.

00:11:19.480 And he was harder on me because-

00:11:21.480 Wow, you're saying that now.

00:11:22.480 Yeah.

00:11:23.480 I mean, maybe it took me, it's taken me 39 years.

00:11:25.480 Have you told him that?

00:11:26.480 Have you told him that?

00:11:27.480 Oh yeah.

00:11:28.480 We've processed.

00:11:29.480 We've done a lot of healing.

00:11:30.480 Um, but, um, you know, he also said to me, look, I'm a psychologist.

00:11:34.480 I know what the world looks like.

00:11:35.480 And I particularly know that it's harder for, for women. 0.95

00:11:38.480 And I wanted you to be tough.

00:11:39.480 I wanted you to be formidable.

00:11:41.480 He said that.

00:11:42.480 Yeah.

00:11:43.480 But he didn't tell me that growing up.

00:11:45.480 So I just thought he didn't like me as much as my brothers.

00:11:47.480 Wow.

00:11:48.480 So that, because you, you know, you know, the most emotional part of the movie is the part

00:11:52.480 where, you know, it's at the end of the movie, you're sitting in with your dad.

00:11:55.480 And, you know, you're going back and forth, you're talking and he asks you, he says, go

00:12:00.480 ahead, Molly, ask me the question you've been meaning to ask me.

00:12:04.480 You know, I know the movie was that one scene, but tell me how it was in real life when that

00:12:09.480 happened.

00:12:10.480 Yeah.

00:12:11.480 Well, um, it was on, it was in California.

00:12:13.480 Um, we hadn't spoken for a year.

00:12:15.480 When I got arrested by the FBI, my dad got mad at me.

00:12:19.480 And it's understandable.

00:12:21.480 He's got a valid, how could you be mad at me, Dad?

00:12:26.480 But I was just like, what?

00:12:29.480 I mean, I'm scared.

00:12:30.480 I mean, my dad, but he was mad and it's understandable.

00:12:33.480 He warned me.

00:12:34.480 He told me I was being reckless.

00:12:36.480 He wrote me five page letters, you know, and, and when I got federally indicted, he was

00:12:41.480 pissed.

00:12:42.480 And so he said, get a public defender because he was mad and I didn't have any money because

00:12:47.480 the feds had already seized my assets.

00:12:49.480 And so I didn't speak to him for a year.

00:12:51.480 And then he wrote me a letter and he said, I'm coming to California because whether you

00:12:55.480 want to speak to me or not, I'm your father.

00:12:58.480 You're getting sentenced in federal court and I want to talk to you.

00:13:01.480 He's reaching out to you.

00:13:02.480 You're not responding.

00:13:03.480 Right.

00:13:04.480 Oh, I responded after that.

00:13:05.480 So he comes.

00:13:06.480 So he comes and, um, you know, I, I always wanted my dad to be proud of me and I always

00:13:13.480 felt like I felt short of my brothers and, and I don't really think I'd ever gotten real

00:13:18.480 with him.

00:13:19.480 You know, I, I just, I wanted to be tough and I wanted to be what I thought he wanted me

00:13:23.480 to be.

00:13:24.480 And then, you know, in my early twenties with this game, I just broke from all of that.

00:13:28.480 I just rebelled against all of that.

00:13:29.480 And I was like, you know what?

00:13:31.480 He wanted me to make money.

00:13:32.480 I'm making money, you know?

00:13:34.480 And, um, so we sat down and I think for the first time in my life, we got real.

00:13:40.480 And I, I said to him, why didn't you like me as much as my brothers?

00:13:43.480 Other than the fact that I was Brad.

00:13:45.480 You were Brad?

00:13:46.480 I was Brad.

00:13:47.480 Somehow I believe that.

00:13:48.480 I was Brad.

00:13:49.480 I, I didn't, you know, I, I was a teenager.

00:13:53.480 I was Brad.

00:13:54.480 And I was, um, you know, I was over rebelling against the, the, the norms and the, you know,

00:14:03.480 the situation.

00:14:04.480 Always having an answer or rebelling.

00:14:05.480 Yeah.

00:14:06.480 Is that why he said he'll be an attorney?

00:14:07.480 Yeah.

00:14:08.480 He was like, you like to read and argue if you should be an attorney.

00:14:11.480 Um, so, you know, then we had that real come to Jesus and he was emotional, you know?

00:14:18.480 Is that the first time?

00:14:19.480 Yeah.

00:14:20.480 Yeah.

00:14:21.480 I mean, the first time, it was the first time I got real with him.

00:14:24.480 And I, I asked him point blank, like, why didn't you like me?

00:14:27.480 And, um, you know, he got so emotional.

00:14:30.480 He was like, I didn't like you.

00:14:31.480 I, I love you, you know?

00:14:33.480 And I, I wanted you to be okay in the world.

00:14:37.480 You know, I know how hard the world is and I wanted you to be formidable.

00:14:42.480 And so, from that moment moving forward, it was, you know, I mean, he's my best friend.

00:14:48.480 I speak to him five times a day.

00:14:50.480 He's probably sticking to calling him.

00:14:51.480 Really?

00:14:52.480 Yeah.

00:14:53.480 Today, best friend?

00:14:54.480 Best friend.

00:14:55.480 And you couldn't have said that prior to that?

00:14:56.480 No.

00:14:57.480 He was like my worst enemy.

00:14:58.480 Wow.

00:14:59.480 Best friend.

00:15:00.480 Not my worst enemy.

00:15:01.480 That's amazing.

00:15:02.480 Yeah.

00:15:03.480 Now, let me ask you, what role did Jeremy and Jordan play?

00:15:05.480 I mean, so, so why don't you, you know, so for some people that don't know, what do

00:15:08.480 your brothers do?

00:15:09.480 So, Jeremy was, um, a six-time world champion, and I might get some of his stats wrong, but,

00:15:15.480 uh, two-time Olympian.

00:15:17.480 Um, he went straight from the Turin Olympics, where he was ranked number one in the world,

00:15:22.480 to the, the NFL Combine.

00:15:24.480 Got drafted fifth round to the Eagles.

00:15:26.480 Um, played in the NFL.

00:15:28.480 Oh, that's why you posted it when the Eagles won.

00:15:30.480 You posted the Eagles, I said, Eagles, what does this have to do with anything?

00:15:33.480 I was trying to figure that out.

00:15:34.480 Yeah.

00:15:35.480 Okay, this makes sense now.

00:15:36.480 Mm-hmm.

00:15:37.480 You said, I remember this phone call or something like that?

00:15:38.480 Yeah, because it was, it was, uh, when Jeremy got a call from Andy Reid.

00:15:41.480 Yes.

00:15:42.480 Yeah.

00:15:43.480 Yeah.

00:15:44.480 And, and then, you know, he left the world of sports and started a charity and tech,

00:15:50.480 and, I mean, he's just, he's in, he's extraordinary.

00:15:52.480 And then Jordan is a Harvard-educated cardiothoracic surgeon.

00:15:57.480 And, you know, he was, like, winning, beating my dad at chess at, like, five.

00:16:01.480 And I'm just sitting there going,

00:16:02.480 At five?

00:16:03.480 He was, uh, you know, they were both prodigies.

00:16:05.480 Truly.

00:16:06.480 Truly.

00:16:07.480 And I'm like, I don't, I like to read poetry.

00:16:11.480 Like, I didn't know what I wanted to do, you know, and I didn't have this, these skills

00:16:17.480 that presented and, um, but I had the competitiveness and I had the just needing approval, like I

00:16:25.480 needed air.

00:16:26.480 And so it was a really kind of bad combination.

00:16:30.480 And, and my brothers are extraordinary human beings, they're great brothers, but what they

00:16:35.480 did is they raised this bar so high that when I went into the world and I, and I stumbled

00:16:41.480 into this opportunity, I was like, this is, this is my chance to be significant.

00:16:46.480 And maybe it's not as flashy or shiny or whatever as my brothers, but like, this is a, this may

00:16:53.480 be my only chance.

00:16:54.480 That's what I thought, you know, cause you're in your early twenties and you think if you

00:16:58.480 haven't figured it out by 22, you're never going to figure it out.

00:17:00.480 You've done, yes.

00:17:01.480 Yeah.

00:17:02.480 Um, I mean, I, I honestly think 22 is the oldest I've ever thought.

00:17:05.480 Did they know how hot, like, did they know what you were doing or not really?

00:17:08.480 They didn't know like.

00:17:09.480 Yeah.

00:17:10.480 I mean, you know, I gave them.

00:17:11.480 While you were doing it.

00:17:12.480 Yeah.

00:17:13.480 Did they kind of have an idea?

00:17:14.480 Yeah, for sure.

00:17:15.480 And I gave them a PG 13.

00:17:16.480 By the way, your mom and dad, did they only have three kids?

00:17:19.480 Yes.

00:17:20.480 Same mom and dad.

00:17:21.480 Yes.

00:17:22.480 Big Brown was a horse that raced in a Kentucky Derby. 0.99

00:17:26.480 Okay.

00:17:27.480 So they went and they were selling his stat fees for $400,000 per.

00:17:31.480 Okay.

00:17:32.480 I know.

00:17:33.480 Somebody should go to your mom and dad and say, listen, I will pay a hundred grand. 0.99

00:17:37.480 Let's freeze this damn thing and put it away and let's see what we can come up with. 0.99

00:17:41.480 Cause three kids to do that at that level. 0.99

00:17:43.480 Yeah.

00:17:44.480 Yeah.

00:17:45.480 You know, your brother's winning in chess at five years old.

00:17:47.480 Yeah.

00:17:48.480 That's insanity to think that.

00:17:49.480 Yeah.

00:17:50.480 That's insanity.

00:17:51.480 If you, if you, if your mom and dad see this, Hey props, you know, props, we were cheering

00:17:55.480 you on for that.

00:17:56.480 But so go back to what you were doing East coast, West coast, East coast.

00:18:00.480 It sounds like you got into the Russian community and it was good.

00:18:03.480 So what was the biggest difference you're doing West coast audience, East coast audience?

00:18:07.480 West coast.

00:18:08.480 West coast.

00:18:09.480 It was a smaller game.

00:18:12.480 It was a fit.

00:18:13.480 It was still huge.

00:18:14.480 It was still a monster.

00:18:15.480 It was a $50,000 buy-in no limit game.

00:18:17.480 And people were winning and losing high six figures, a million dollars for sure.

00:18:20.480 East coast, $250,000 and no limit PLO, no limit Omaha, no limit Texas Holden.

00:18:28.480 People were winning and losing five to 10 million.

00:18:31.480 You know, these are, these are wall street guys.

00:18:34.480 They, they move in units.

00:18:36.480 Right.

00:18:37.480 And it's like, they're just so used to the fluctuation.

00:18:39.480 Was it always cash or was it Lena?

00:18:41.480 Listen, I don't have cash.

00:18:42.480 I'll throw my Lambo in there.

00:18:43.480 I'll throw my, well, I'll throw my condo in here.

00:18:46.480 Was it like that?

00:18:47.480 I never got to that point.

00:18:48.480 I didn't want to deal with property.

00:18:49.480 Yeah.

00:18:50.480 I was going to say something.

00:18:51.480 No, it was, um, it was bank wires and checks.

00:18:54.480 Okay.

00:18:55.480 Yeah.

00:18:56.480 Um, very rarely cash anymore.

00:18:58.480 Cause it's just the amounts were so high.

00:18:59.480 So here's my question for you before we talk about the FBI felony, all that other stuff,

00:19:03.480 right?

00:19:04.480 Well, I mean, it was legal for in LA.

00:19:07.480 It was completely legal.

00:19:08.480 To do that.

00:19:09.480 Yeah.

00:19:10.480 Okay.

00:19:11.480 Got it.

00:19:12.480 And what I was doing was legal too.

00:19:13.480 Um, because I wasn't taking a break.

00:19:14.480 I was just operating on tips.

00:19:15.480 That's the biggest challenge when that happened is when things change, right?

00:19:17.480 When there's a rape being taken.

00:19:18.480 Yes.

00:19:19.480 And I had retained criminal attorneys from both coasts that were former federal prosecutors

00:19:23.480 and I was paying my taxes and I was walking for a long time that gray line.

00:19:28.480 And then I remember the exact moment where I made that choice to step over here.

00:19:34.480 Do you remember like-

00:19:35.480 I remember, I could tell you what it smelled like in the room.

00:19:38.480 I mean, yes. 0.99

00:19:39.480 When you did it, did you say, shit, I shouldn't have done this? 0.98

00:19:41.480 Or did you do it saying, uh, let's roll the dice? 0.99

00:19:46.480 Yeah.

00:19:47.480 I had that, uh, just like that, that scary feeling and then it was just like, whatever,

00:19:52.480 I'll handle it.

00:19:53.480 You know?

00:19:54.480 But like, yeah, I knew it in the pit of my stomach.

00:19:56.480 Um, you know, I was just, I was, I wanted, I wanted more.

00:20:00.480 I wanted to scale it more.

00:20:01.480 I wanted the games to be bigger.

00:20:02.480 I wanted the games to be, uh, you know, I wanted to move it to Europe.

00:20:06.480 I wanted more and more and more.

00:20:07.480 And I-

00:20:08.480 Vision, expansion.

00:20:09.480 I wanted expansion, but it wasn't the world.

00:20:11.480 You know?

00:20:12.480 It wasn't sustainable.

00:20:13.480 It was just me.

00:20:14.480 I didn't have any financial partners.

00:20:15.480 Right.

00:20:16.480 Um, so I'm extending this crazy credit every week.

00:20:18.480 I'm running seven games a week.

00:20:20.480 So you, you didn't think there was any limits.

00:20:22.480 You're like, I'm going to push a little bit more and a little bit more and a little bit

00:20:25.480 more.

00:20:26.480 Yeah.

00:20:27.480 So let's go back to what you were talking about the moment, you know, you crossed the

00:20:28.480 line.

00:20:29.480 So you did that.

00:20:30.480 Then what happened after that?

00:20:32.480 So things started to fall apart pretty quickly.

00:20:35.480 Um, how, how quick is quickly?

00:20:37.480 So I would say from the time I took a rake to the time that I was completely shut down,

00:20:41.480 it was probably six months.

00:20:42.480 So six months, it still lasted six months.

00:20:45.480 Um, yeah.

00:20:46.480 So around the same time that I started taking a rake, I had let these Russian guys start 1.00

00:20:51.480 to play.

00:20:52.480 And there's a lot of people that-

00:20:54.480 This is New York.

00:20:55.480 This is New York.

00:20:56.480 That said, didn't you know they are a Russian mob? 0.99

00:20:58.480 No.

00:20:59.480 The answer is absolutely not.

00:21:00.480 I mean, they showed up, they were well dressed.

00:21:02.480 They had a serious story that I had vetted out in terms of what their business was.

00:21:05.480 They were well-spoken, educated.

00:21:07.480 They could mesh well with the players.

00:21:09.480 They just gave a ton of action.

00:21:11.480 Turns out they were running this hundred million dollar insurance fraud scheme, the biggest

00:21:15.480 in New York City history, and the feds are on to them.

00:21:19.480 The feds are wiretapping them.

00:21:20.480 Right?

00:21:21.480 So, and simultaneously, you know-

00:21:23.480 The feds are wiretapping them.

00:21:25.480 So simultaneously, you got the Ponzi scheme happening.

00:21:29.480 That gets revealed-

00:21:30.480 With Ruderman.

00:21:31.480 With Ruderman in California.

00:21:32.480 So now they're, the feds, here and here.

00:21:36.480 This goes west, this goes.

00:21:37.480 And, you know, through these wiretaps and through this, through the discovery, they're

00:21:42.480 like, oh my god, here's this girl. 1.00

00:21:45.480 She's got these Russians playing. 1.00

00:21:47.480 She's got Wall Street guys playing. 0.73

00:21:49.480 And you know how much the Southern District loves a Wall Street takedown.

00:21:52.480 You know?

00:21:53.480 And then the west coast guys, the celebrity factor.

00:21:57.480 And it's all connected through this poker game.

00:22:00.480 Like, it's obvious.

00:22:01.480 It's dangerous.

00:22:02.480 But like, in my heart of hearts, I don't think I was ready to walk away.

00:22:05.480 Which is a crazy moment of, all of a sudden, now you're putting this money and this greed

00:22:11.480 and this power over life and liberty.

00:22:13.480 Right?

00:22:14.480 Because I'm breaking the law, and now my life's in jeopardy.

00:22:16.480 And I'm still choosing to go down this path.

00:22:18.480 And I look at the newspaper about 10 days later.

00:22:21.480 125 guys arrested in the biggest mob-related takedown in New York City history.

00:22:26.480 Never heard from them again.

00:22:28.480 125.

00:22:29.480 They had to, like, rent out a gymnasium for processing.

00:22:33.480 Like, a month or two later, I get a call from one of my dealers at one of my smaller games.

00:22:37.480 You know, don't come here.

00:22:40.480 The FBI's here.

00:22:41.480 So, I throw all my stuff in a suitcase.

00:22:46.480 And I'm on the phone with my travel agent, and I'm like, I need to book a flight.

00:22:50.480 I need to go home.

00:22:51.480 I want my mom.

00:22:52.480 And, um, she's like, your credit card's getting deployed, or your card's getting deployed.

00:22:56.480 And I looked at my balances, and they all read negative $9,999,999.

00:23:03.480 So, all of my accounts were shut down and seized.

00:23:07.480 So, that was game over.

00:23:08.480 You know?

00:23:09.480 So, I went and moved home with my mom.

00:23:10.480 I didn't have a bank account.

00:23:11.480 I started writing this book.

00:23:13.480 I tried to battle back.

00:23:14.480 All the games are shut at this point.

00:23:17.480 Done.

00:23:18.480 Done.

00:23:19.480 Two years later, I kind of started to really make headway in putting my life back together.

00:23:23.480 I had moved back to L.A.

00:23:24.480 I had gotten a job.

00:23:26.480 Um, I had almost finished my book.

00:23:29.480 And I was starting to pitch to Hollywood.

00:23:31.480 And 10 days after moving back to L.A., 17 FBI agents, machine guns, high beam flashlights,

00:23:39.480 arrest me.

00:23:40.480 And that was when they, they federally indicted me.

00:23:43.480 This is while you're pitching your story?

00:23:45.480 Yeah.

00:23:46.480 And I'm like, well, I guess it's a better story now.

00:23:49.480 Shhh.

00:23:50.480 Okay.

00:23:51.480 So, this happens now.

00:23:52.480 You're being indicted.

00:23:53.480 What happened next?

00:23:54.480 I was starting to show a Russian mob RICO indictment.

00:23:56.480 The guy at the top of the indictment was this guy known as...

00:23:58.480 RICO indictment?

00:23:59.480 Yes.

00:24:00.480 Was this guy known as a VOR.

00:24:01.480 And a VOR in Russian organized crime is the scariest, like, most dangerous human being. 0.63

00:24:06.480 And he's in Moscow.

00:24:07.480 And I'm like, I don't know the VOR.

00:24:09.480 Like, I don't know these people.

00:24:10.480 They linked you to them.

00:24:11.480 Yes.

00:24:12.480 Said 90, I said I was looking at 90 years on the press release.

00:24:17.480 I mean, it was gnarly.

00:24:18.480 Gnarly.

00:24:19.480 90 years.

00:24:20.480 Yeah.

00:24:21.480 90 years.

00:24:22.480 Looking at 90 years on the press release.

00:24:24.480 And I flew to New York and I interviewed 10 attorneys that day, that next day.

00:24:28.480 And every one of them said, you don't have any money?

00:24:31.480 Like, we can't.

00:24:32.480 My last meeting of the day, I met Jim Walden.

00:24:34.480 And he was at Gibson Dunn.

00:24:35.480 He was a former federal prosecutor.

00:24:37.480 And I told him my story.

00:24:39.480 And he's like, you need representation.

00:24:42.480 And I would have never indicted this case.

00:24:44.480 And like, I need to make sure that you're okay.

00:24:47.480 So, I walked into that courtroom the next day with all these Russian mobsters and some gamblers. 1.00

00:24:55.480 And, you know, it was just, it was pretty surreal.

00:25:00.480 That's crazy.

00:25:01.480 What was the biggest thing afterwards?

00:25:03.480 Once everything was finalized, what was the biggest thing that changed with you afterwards?

00:25:08.480 I mean, I think everything changed.

00:25:10.480 The truth is, is that fundamentally nothing really changed inside.

00:25:15.480 And so, knowing that, and knowing that that was the case, and also being decimated and publicly decimated, you know, was liberating to some degree.

00:25:26.480 I'd faced, I was, you know, I'd faced my biggest fear.

00:25:29.480 I was completely, um, I'd failed on a huge level.

00:25:33.480 And I was still alive.

00:25:35.480 You know, I was still breathing.

00:25:36.480 So, I started building myself, my self-worth, and sort of, um, from the inside, you know?

00:25:42.480 And a lot of that was like, showing up for my family again.

00:25:45.480 And, like, being of service, or making my life about something bigger than myself.

00:25:49.480 Now, my drive is, is, I still, I'm still ambitious, and I still have a drive, but, like, my picture of success, and my motivation for success looks very different.

00:26:01.480 That's interesting.

00:26:02.480 That's great to hear.

00:26:03.480 And then, last but not least, you watched the movie.

00:26:06.480 What's your reaction when you watch the movie?

00:26:08.480 It is your story.

00:26:10.480 I mean, obviously, she did a phenomenal job representing you.

00:26:13.480 She did.

00:26:14.480 Well, I came, I came at this from a place of, okay, I'm gonna, you know, I know that this is a long shot, but I think the best shot for coming out of this massive mess that I've created.

00:26:26.480 Um, both financial and reputation, and, and, you know, now coming, trying to navigate life as a felon, was to tell my story.

00:26:35.480 And to tell it in the biggest way possible.

00:26:37.480 So, I was coming to this movie with such an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

00:26:42.480 It wasn't like someone decided to write a movie about my life, and, like, I was gonna have to watch it, you know?

00:26:47.480 I knew that, that Sorkin, and Jessica, and Idris Elba, and the producers had taken, you know, had, were invested.

00:26:56.480 And that it, and it wasn't just a movie, it was a second chance.

00:26:59.480 So, um, I was already in a bunch, in a lot of gratitude.

00:27:03.480 And then when I saw the movie, I was just like, just blown away, you know?

00:27:08.480 I, I can tell you, that's exactly how I felt when I watched.

00:27:11.480 That's why I reached out to you.

00:27:12.480 So, for me, it's, hands down, the best movie I've seen in the last, last year.

00:27:16.480 I mean, I don't think anything comes close to it.

00:27:18.480 I was so blown away by this story, and I'll just sit with you and hear it from you.

00:27:21.480 Thank you so much for taking the time and visiting with us.

00:27:24.480 Thank you.

00:27:25.480 Yeah, thanks for coming.

00:27:26.480 Thanks, everybody, for listening.

00:27:27.480 And by the way, if you haven't already subscribed to Valuetainment on iTunes, please do so.

00:27:32.480 Give us a five-star.

00:27:33.480 Write a review if you haven't already.

00:27:35.480 And if you have any questions for me that you may have, you can always find me on Snapchat,

00:27:39.480 Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.

00:27:41.480 Just search my name, Patrick VidDavid.

00:27:43.480 And I actually do respond back when you snap me or send me a message on Instagram.

00:27:48.480 With that being said, have a great day today.

00:27:50.480 Take care, everybody.

00:27:51.480 Bye-bye.

00:27:56.480 Bye-bye.

Valuetainment - September 24, 2018

Episode 173： FBI Takes Down Biggest Underground Poker Game - Molly Bloom's True Story

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