No more blackjack for Affleck

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/09/2014 (3497 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ben banned from blackjack

BEN Affleck tells Details magazine the stories are true — he was banned from the blackjack tables at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas (but not the whole casino) for counting cards.

“I took some time to learn the game and became a decent blackjack player. And… the casinos asked me not to play blackjack. I mean, the fact that being good at the game is against the rules should tell you something about casinos. They don’t even want you to have a sporting chance, really. There’s a lot of hospitality, backslapping, when they think you’re gonna come in and dump money, (but) if they think you might leave with some money, it’s like, ‘You know what? Why don’t you try craps or roulette?’ “

Perfect casting for Grumpy Cat

I’M getting excited about Lifetime TV movie Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever now that Entertainment Weekly has revealed Aubrey Plaza will do the voice of the main character.

Plaza’s perfect: Her deadpan approach on Parks and Recreation is pretty much exactly what you’d expect from Grumpy Cat. Good casting!

 

Leo named UN peace ambassador

LEONARDO DiCaprio is being named a United Nations “messenger of peace.”

The UN has this deal where “distinguished individuals, carefully selected from the fields of art, music, literature and sports” can get this designation.

It’s supposed to win publicity for good causes — Leo’s is the environment. Actually, it sounds to me like a way for UN bureaucrats to meet celebs (although Kate Upton is mysteriously absent from the list). George Clooney, Stevie Wonder, Yo-Yo Ma, Charlize Theron, Michael Douglas, Jane Goodall, Paulo Coelho, Muhammad Ali and Daniel Barenboim, among others, have had the designation.

Leo’s UN job will be to fly around telling the rest of us to cut back on greenhouse gases. He has, I should say in fairness, invested a lot of money and time into environmental and animal-protection causes.

 

Lil Wayne expecting two more little ones

GOOD to know Lil Wayne has been keeping busy: He’s reportedly expecting a baby with his fiancée, Dhea Sodana, and also expecting a baby with actress/singer Christina Milian.

The news come from “urban website” MediaTakeOut.com and there have been no denials. Dwayne Michael Carter, as the rapper was born, will soon have a total of at least six acknowledged children by six different women, if the report is correct.

 

Chavril gets complicated

AS you have no doubt heard by now, the marriage of Canadian musicians Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger is at risk, just 14 months after they tied the knot.

Us Weekly rounds up all the rumours, including someone who claims anonymously Kroeger “has been going around L.A. telling people that they are divorcing.”

Somebody from Team Avril adds this: “Chad is just a complete jerk in the way he talks to her and the way he talks to people in general. A lot of her friends don’t like him.”

Another anony-mouse is less sure about a split, noting Lavigne “really wants to have a baby. She was hoping, after this album, to take time off and start a family.” Divorce is not imminent, this source says.

Kroeger is 39. Lavigne is 29.

 

Depardieu loves to drink

AN old buddy of mine used to boast of being “never drunk, seldom sober.” That sounds like Gerard Depardieu’s approach, too. The French-born actor, who now lives in Russia, told British tabloid the Daily Mirror he drinks up to 14 bottles of wine a day but is never “totally drunk.”

He described a normal day: “Champagne or red wine before 10 a.m. Then again champagne. Then pastis, maybe half a bottle. Then food, accompanied by two bottles of wine. In the afternoon, champagne, beer and more pastis at around 5 p.m., to finish off the bottle. Later on vodka and/or whisky.”

That’s his story, and he’s sticking to it. You wonder how he remembers.

 

Paris pays $13K for petite pooch

LIFESTYLES of the rich: Paris Hilton has just paid US$13,000 for a dog, and not even a real dog. It’s one of those little bug-dogs, a tiny Pomeranian puppy that will never grow much past 13 cm high.

She bought this critter — named Mr. Amazing — from a Calgary breeder, Betty’s Teacup Yorkies.

Paris wants to change the name, but only, I’m guessing, if she can come up with something even more annoying than Mr. Amazing.

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