Japanese actor Kei Tanaka was caught last April having an affair with actress Mei Nagano. His once overflowing acting offers instantly dried up, and over the past year, he has become virtually a professional gambler, traveling the world to participate in poker tournaments. His footsteps have reached Jeju Island in South Korea, Las Vegas in the US, and Barcelona in Spain. Most recently, he competed in the 'Aussie Millions Poker Championship' challenge in Melbourne, Australia. On the 5th, after battling in the finals for nearly seven hours, he ultimately finished in 7th place, taking home about 110,000 Australian dollars (around 310,000 ringgit) in prize money.
The 41-year-old Kei Tanaka is a huge mahjong enthusiast, and finds poker very similar to mahjong; it's not just about luck, but also requires strategy and reasoning. His first time competing in an overseas poker tournament was in July last year in Jeju Island, where he won about 410,000 yen (around 10,000 ringgit) in prize money. That same month, he moved on to Las Vegas and took home a large prize of around 17,000,000 yen (about 420,000 ringgit). In August, he went to Barcelona, winning four times in just ten days and earning about 3,390,000 yen (around 85,000 ringgit).
He returned to Jeju Island several more times to compete. This March, he spent a total of 20,000 US dollars (about 79,000 ringgit) in entry fees for four tournaments, and only managed to win one, taking home $9,200 (about 36,000 ringgit), ending the run with a small loss. According to people in the poker community, when he returns to Japan, he continues to hone his skills at 'entertainment poker' venues, which do not involve real money, in order to adjust his game.
Although he is listed among the cast for a new film scheduled for release in July, 'Kingdom: Soul Battle', which some see as a sign of a 'comeback', the actual filming was completed the year before. Since the scandal broke, his primary acting career has essentially been on hiatus, and now people have become more accustomed to seeing him at the poker tables.
Source: Apple Daily News