Réne Angélil's Passion for Playing Poker
René Angélil may be popularly known as the husband of well-renowned singer Celine Dion. But apart from being the partner of Dion since 1994, he also had a career in the entertainment industry. In fact, he is still involved with the industry as the manager of his wife. Moreover, he is also very passionate about playing poker. The focus of our discussion is on the life of René Angélil's in the entertainment world as well as the poker world.
Prior to meeting and becoming the manager of Dion, René Angélil was already involved in the music industry. He was a pop singer in Montreal, Quebec in the 1960s and even formed a band called The Baronets. His band was popular during that time that he and his bandmates were even recognized as "Quebec's Beatles." When The Baronets disbanded, René Angélil decided to manage artists, having Ginette Reno and René Simard as his first talents. It was in 1981 when Dion became his talent, and it was in 1987 and 1988 when he received the Felix Award for being the best artist manager.
René Angélil is known to be efficient in balancing his time for his work, family, and passion for playing poker. Most poker players and celebrities know how passionate René Angélil is about playing poker. In fact, it seems like his and his wife's home in Las Vegas, Nevada makes it very convenient for him to play his favorite casino game. While Dion is regularly seen performing at Caesars Palace, René Angélil is also regularly seen playing poker at casinos in Las Vegas. He has even played with such professional poker players as Chip Reese, Eli Elezra, and Doyle Brunson.
This celebrity poker player has qualified for the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions in 2005 and has successfully participated in the Mirage Poker Showdown event of the World Poker Tour in 2007. Although he experienced being successful in playing poker, this celebrity poker player has been making headlines for allegedly losing large amounts of money due to gambling. The periodical "The London Observer" stated in one of its articles that René Angélil approximately spends US$1 million a week to play poker. However, the management of Caesars Palace believes that the losses incurred by René Angélil are offset by his winnings from poker tournaments. The management of Caesars Palace also reported once that this celebrity poker has earned a profit from playing at the casino for more than two years.
This celebrity poker player also suffered, but has recovered, from throat cancer. Nevertheless, such illness did not become a hindrance for him to stop playing his favorite casino game. It does seem that he will continue to play poker, whether he wins or loses big.