11 Quotes from Hollywood’s Poker Princess — Molly Bloom on Money & Life

This appeared in The Millennial Souce

Molly’s Game, a 2017 film by award-winning director Aaron Sorkin, depicts the true story of a young American woman who founded “…the Most Exclusive, High-Stakes Underground Poker Game in the World.” Sorkin adapted the screenplay from a book by the same title, written by the woman herself — Molly Bloom.

In its heyday, Bloom’s poker game served some of the biggest names in Hollywood and New York, as well as business tycoons and the Russian mob. The tables frequently turned over hundreds of millions of dollars in a single night.

However, a few years after Bloom’s underground game took off, she was served with an IRS levy of $116,133 for failing to pay appropriate taxes. A few years later, Bloom found herself as one of 34 accused participants in a $100 million money laundering and illegal sports gambling scandal.

Facing a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and already deeply in debt, Bloom had a choice to make: Expose the activities of her customers in exchange for clemency, or risk facing the maximum penalty.

In May of 2014, Bloom pled guilty to the charges against her. However, the judge who heard the case deemed prison “too harsh” of a punishment given the…