Vince Van Patten

A poker biography of Vince Van Patten.

Quick Information Name - Vince Van Patten Born - Oct 17th 1957, Bellrose, New York, United States  Poker Room - Hollywood Poker

Biography

The term celebrity has often been associated with anyone who appears to have their so-called fifteen minutes of fame. However, there is one poker player who every right to have be called such - Hollywood Poker.com's leading star Vince Van Patten. The word celebrity fits Vince's stardom background perfectly as well as his successful career in various areas of entertainment like tennis, acting, and appearing as commentator for the World Poker Tour televised program.   

Born on October 17, 1957 in Bellrose, New York, Vince is the son of famous Hollywood actor Dick Van and former June Taylor dancer Pat Patten. Since his parents were both involved in the entertainment industry, Vince also developed a keen passion for acting at the early age of 9. His first stint in the entertainment industry was the Colgate commercial, and by the time he turned 12, his commercial roles totaled to more than 30 projects. Moving on to television roles, Vince guest-starred in various TV programs, including "Adams 12", "The Courtship of Eddie's Father", and "Bonanza". He was also included in the cast of a CBS series "Apple's Way", as well as costarred in "The Bionic Boy".  

Despite young Vince's success in the entertainment field, it did not stop him from pursuing his other passion, which is playing tennis. When Vince's family moved to Los Angeles, the Pattens played tennis at the Poisettia Park in Hollywood. Vince learned how to play tennis from his parents and mostly by himself. He never attended tennis camps or lessons, but he enjoyed watching and learning the game tactics of some of his favorite tennis stars. He even developed his own playing technique that proved to be very successful in his tennis tournament games. Among the highlights of Vince's tennis career are his ranking as the 25th professional tennis player in the world, his award as the Association of Tennis Professionals Rookie of the Year in 1979, and his big win at the Seiko World Super Tennis tournament in Tokyo in 1981. Five years later, he finally retired from playing professional tennis and went back to continue his acting profession.

Aside from his tennis and acting career, Vince began to show interest in poker, a game he was interested in during his childhood years. He used to watch his father play cards with friends in their house two to three times a week. He learned the poker rules from his father, and it did not take long for him to develop a certain passion in playing. Right after his tennis retirement, Vince started to play poker more seriously as he joined and won a series of poker tours, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP). As his poker skills and games improved, Vince decided to put up his own bevy of sponsored games in Hollywood. The television show was an instant hit when it started to air in 2002.

Now widely recognized as the “King of the Hollywood Home Games”, Vince still enjoys playing in various international poker events despite his busy schedule hosting a televised poker series. He also teamed up with his father at the 2006 WPT Fathers and Sons special televised event, wherein they competed against the Brunson and Greenstein father and son tandems. Indeed, the term celebrity is a fitting word for a man like Vince Van Patten, who has a sterling acting history in Hollywood, a solid name in the global tennis community, and a fine reputation in the international poker circuit.