Poker Hottie of the Week-Shannon Elizabeth

To continue last week’s actress turned poker player Hottie of the Week theme, this week’s hottie is the buxom and very sweet-looking, Shannon Elizabeth. Shannon’s early exit in the 2008 Aussie Millions, and her famously topless portrayal of Nadia in American Pie, would not lead to the belief that she is a world class poker player.  However, her 2007 success and Mansion Poker’s recent sponsorship lets us know Shannon is more than just a pretty face at the poker table.

Shannon was born in Houston, Texas in 1973.  She began her acting career in 1996 with an appearance in the film Jack Frost. Since then, she has been credited with 35 other TV and movie rolls, the most famous of which is obviously where we all discovered “she takes her vitamins” in American Pie. But, she also had major roles in Thirteen Ghosts, Jay and Silent Bob Stirke Back, and Scary Movie. Poker, which she refers to as a “second career”, has come fairly easily to Shannon, as she has only been playing Texas Hold’Em for a short time.

Although Shannon’s Hold’Em playing began around 2003, according to pokerlistings.com, she has been playing stud and draw games with her family since she was young girl. It wasn’t until meeting and befriending Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, and of course fellow actress and last weeks hottie, Jennifer Tilly, that she became a Hold’Em player. Under the guidance of The Unabomber, Unabombshell, and The Magician, she honed her skills until entering the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and just barely missed cashing in the Main Event. Like Tilly, Shannon’s acting skills made her a natural for the poker world and the 34 year old made a statement at the 2006 WSOP.  She went as a part of the FullTilt team, and scored three small cashes, and then again she cashed in last years WSOP. But Shannon made her biggest cash and breakthrough performance to date in the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Tournament, with a 125,000 dollar prize for making it to the semifinals. To accomplish this she beat out top pros like Jeff Madsen, Barry Greenstein, and Humberto Brenes. According to pokernews.com, on January 14th Shannon Elizabeth signed a deal with Mansion Poker to become part of the growing site’s team. The sponsorship included entry into the Aussie Millions Main Event. Also she apparently currently travels to Las Vegas a few times a month to play in some higher stakes cash games.

At this point it seems like Shannon’s “second career” is on track to be very successful. Unlike Tilly, Elizabeth still devotes a good portion of her time to acting and continues to be well known in her “first career” as well. With her track record so far, there is no reason to think that she will not continue her current momentum in both fields. Her gorgeous looks and recent poker success give her the week two, Poker Hottie of the Week, crown.