Caitlyn Jenner became an Olympic gold medalist decades ago, but the decathlete competed on a different stage this weekend as she hones talents that don’t involve long jumps or pole vaults.
Jenner, also known for the reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, played in the Celebrity Poker Tour (CPT) Invitational XIII in Las Vegas alongside dozens of athletes and influencers in what she told PokerNews was more or less her first foray into the game.
“I’m actually a professional poker player,” Jenner joked before coming clean that she only “played poker a couple of times years ago.”
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“You Have to Move Forward”
Jenner was hardly the only newcomer in the event, an invitation-only tournament that awarded $15,000 to the winner. She played the whole night next to fellow reality TV personality Holly Madison, who told PokerNews that she is “just starting her poker journey,” although she previously received some coaching from five-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Jeff Madsen.
Jenner didn’t have the good fortune of being coached by a WSOP Player of the Year (she did get a poker lesson inside PokerGO Studio the day before the event) but still held her own at the feature table that also included former NBA guard Nate Robinson, content creators Camilla Araujo and Tana Mongeau and eventual champion N3on.
What Jenner lacked in experience she made up for in wisdom, describing to PokerNews exactly what she thinks “poker is about” before she was eliminated outside the money.
“You have to move forward, but you have to do it cautiously,” Jenner said. “And the bottom line is you got to have the cards. I mean, if you don’t get the cards, you’re not going to win, you know?”
Not bad for a total poker newcomer, but hard to expect less from a legendary Olympic champion.
Kylie Jenner “Love(s) Playing Poker”
While poker isn’t a big part of Jenner’s life, the same can’t be said about her superstar daughter Kylie Jenner.
Poker is one of the 29-year-old’s favorite hobbies, one she likes so much that she created a “hot girl poker” masterclass with Vanity Fair earlier this year where she walks her hundreds of millions of followers through the game.
“She’s very upset that I’m here and she’s not,” Caitlyn said at Friday’s tournament.
Kylie seems to have picked up poker from her boyfriend, A-list actor Timothée Chalamet, whose A Complete Unknown co-star Ellie Fanning described as “pretty good at poker.”
“They love playing poker,” Caitlyn said about the couple.
And does Kylie share Chalamet’s poker talent?
“I’ve never played with her, so I wouldn’t know. But I wouldn’t put it past her.”
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Connor Richards
Senior Editor U.S.