Molly Bloom is the author of the book Molly’s Game, published in 2014. In this memoir, she sheds light on her childhood in Loveland, Colorado, where she and her brothers were trained as professional skiers. Unlike her brother Jeremy, Molly doesn’t qualify for the Olympics due to a spine injury and has to retire at an early age. She then goes to university and gets a degree in Political Science before moving to Los Angeles where she works in different jobs before becoming an assistant in a real estate company.
One day, her boss asks her to arrange a poker game night for some of his clients in the basement of one of his clubs. Molly had never played poker in her life and has to google information about the game and what music and food that should be served for the event. When the poker night turns to be a success, her boss puts her in charge of running the game twice a week and she’s given a list of clients that includes Hollywood A-Listers, athletes and multi-millionaires to invite. Molly slowly becomes familiar with this world and with her increasing network takes over from her boss and starts running her own games.
Using the large sums of tips and profits she gets on poker nights, Molly decides to add glamour to the game by moving it to LA’s 5 star hotels and inviting more famous people to play. At the age of 26, she comes to be known as the Poker Princess and the only woman ever to run poker games. Later when she’s sabotaged by a player who decides to take over her game, Molly moves to New York and starts afresh again. This time, her clients involve Wall Street brokers and she begins running tournaments. However, her happiness is short lived as she gets involved unknowingly with the schemes of the Russian mob that leads to her indictment and loss of her dream-like life.
The book is an exciting read and although it talks about poker yet the writer avoids the technical details. Instead, she narrates her own story which is quite unique and what she gained and lost while being part of the gambling world. She describes the compulsive behaviour of addicts which keeps them returning to the game despite their heavy losses. Also, the struggles she faced being a woman in charge of running a male dominated game.
One of the shocking parts was when Tobey Maguire asks her to bark like a seal for a $1000 tip. Even better, when the Italian Mafia comes to the scene demanding to be in charge of debt collecting as it’s not a “woman’s job”. The book was turned into a movie by the same name in 2017, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin starring Jessica Chastain in the role of Molly. The plot was slightly changed from the book and many characters mentioned in the book were turned into a collective character (e.g., Hollywood stars were presented by Player X played by Michael Cera) and a fictional character added (Idris Alba in the role of Molly’s attorney).
The movie was a success and got Sorkin a nomination for the Academy Award’s best adapted screenplay in 2018. Jessica Chastain won best actress in Zurich and Palm Springs international film festivals. Molly’s Game is a fascinating reading experience with an insight to a world not known to many of us. It teaches valuable lessons on what life is about and how our true essence and judgment could sometimes be clouded by the temptation of power and greed. Recommended for all.
Rasha al Raisi is a certified skills trainer and the author of:
The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com
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