The Game That Sent Rick Salomon to Rehab
September 3, 2026
sent Rick Salomon to rehab
High roller Andrew Robl, during a broadcast on High Stakes Poker, shared for the first time a story from the early 2010s.
It's about a three-day marathon in Bobby's Room. The game started at $50/$100 stakes, but because of the actions of film producer Rick Salomon, who was deep in drug addiction and hadn't slept for three days, it turned into a super high stakes game.
After losing his starting chips, Salomon returned to the table with a pillowcase stuffed to the top with bundles of cash, and dumped the whole pile of money in front of the dealer for a new rebuy. By the third day, the minimum stack at the table had grown to $500,000, and Rick was putting in $10,000 straddles.
The final point of the marathon was a hand against Steve Billirakis. Steve opened to $36,000, and Salomon defended his blind with 6-4. On a 6-4-K flop Rick hit two pair, but ran into his opponent's pocket kings.
Having lost absolutely all his money, Salomon went straight from the table to a rehab center, where he was successfully treated for a whole year. Later, Rick admitted that this loss saved his life.
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High roller Andrew Robl, during a broadcast on High Stakes Poker, shared for the first time a story from the early 2010s.
It's about a three-day marathon in Bobby's Room. The game started at $50/$100 stakes, but because of the actions of film producer Rick Salomon, who was deep in drug addiction and hadn't slept for three days, it turned into a super high stakes game.
After losing his starting chips, Salomon returned to the table with a pillowcase stuffed to the top with bundles of cash, and dumped the whole pile of money in front of the dealer for a new rebuy. By the third day, the minimum stack at the table had grown to $500,000, and Rick was putting in $10,000 straddles.
The final point of the marathon was a hand against Steve Billirakis. Steve opened to $36,000, and Salomon defended his blind with 6-4. On a 6-4-K flop Rick hit two pair, but ran into his opponent's pocket kings.
Having lost absolutely all his money, Salomon went straight from the table to a rehab center, where he was successfully treated for a whole year. Later, Rick admitted that this loss saved his life.
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