“All In” Poker Doc Goes All-In On Poker

From the Matt Damon/Edward Norton pic “Rounders” to the Hole Card Cam to online poker amateur Chris Moneymaker taking down the big boys in Vegas to the recent legal battles with the U.S. governemtn’s UIGEA, there is a lot that went into the meteoric rise of poker in global culture. Enough, in fact, that it was about time somebody put it all down in film. That somebody turned out to be Douglas Tirola, director of the insightful and revealing poker documentary called “All In” that just premiered at the Brenden Theatres in the Palms Hotel and Casino at the CineVegas Film Festival.

With interviews of over 130 figures, from players like Phil Laak and actress-cum-poker goddess Jennifer Tilly to names and faces you might never expect to see in a poker doc, like boxing’s Evander Holyfield, NPR radio’s Ira Glass, and basketball’s Denny Crum, this is an eclectic tour de force that bares the world of poker wide open for all to see.

Not to be confused with the 2006 fictitious narrative pic of the same name (which follows 6 med students taking down the WSOP Main Event), this poker retrospective is all truth and nothing but, straight from the horse’s (or should we say shark’s) mouths.

The timing of this release couldn’t be better (and of course, couldn’t be accidental) as it coincided with the running of the 2009 World Series of Poker at the Rio close by, wich no doubt accounted for the 300+ attendees in the audience for the film’s debut.