Molly Bloom knew her secretive high-stakes poker games attracted an "incredible network" of people "to try and leverage".
Molly Bloom
The Olympic-class skier organised one of Hollywood's poker games and with the buy-in set at $50,000 it attracted a number of A-listers including the likes of Ben Affleck, Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio as well as the Russian mob.
As the champagne and caviar flowed, Molly earned a staggering £3 million a year just in tips from the high-rollers and she knew it was a "room of people who had made it" that she could profit from.
Now, her story has been adapted for the big screen in the new movie 'Molly's Game'.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz at the UK premiere of 'Molly's Game' at Vue Cinema in London's Leicester Square on Thursday night (06.12.17), Molly said: "Well, they were there at the very first game. And because of the people sat at the table, not just the celebrities but the formidable people from the business world, from finance, from politics, I knew this was a room of people who had made it. And I knew this was an incredible network to try and leverage."
However, in 2013, Molly was arrested by 17 FBI agents in the middle of the night and grilled over her connection with the Russian mob and profiting from illegal poker games.
She was hit with a £93,000 fine and a year's probation during which she wrote her memoir 'Molly's Game: From Hollywood's Elite to Wall Street's Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker'.
The memoir has now been adapted by Aaron Sorkin in his directorial debut, 'Molly's Game', starring Jessica Chastain as Molly and Idris Elba as her defence lawyer Charlie Jaffey.
The film has already been tipped for Oscar success, and Molly cannot believe her story has made it to the big screen and created such a buzz.
She said: "There just aren't words. I cannot believe this is happening!"
Tagged in Ben Affleck Leonardo DiCaprio Tobey Maguire