Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

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Molly Bloom, the real life Hollywood poker mogul behind 'Molly's Game', tells Justin Kan she struggled with substance abuse when finishing her book: 'everything I had thought about life and fulfilment was wrong'.

Watch the full episode with Molly Bloom here: youtu.be/STlLk1dC5XE

Molly Bloom started out as a freestyle skier, but somehow found her way into Hollywood through a poker game. Molly had to give up on her Olympic aspirations after sustaining a serious back injury in 2002. During a gap year before law school, she moved to LA and ended up running one of the biggest high-stake poker games in the world (first in LA, then later in New York). Her clientele came from Hollywood’s top 1%, including Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon. If you've watched the Oscar-nominated movie Molly's Game, you know what happened next: she got robbed at gunpoint and raided by FBI. They seized all her assets, and she became a convicted felon.

In this episode, we dive into the bigger story: how Molly found her path to redemption, giving up her wealth and status in pursuit of happiness. We talk about the real story behind the movie, her battles with substance addiction, reconnecting with her family and finding closure from her past.

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