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Scott Ian has many claims to fame. He co-founded Anthrax, one of the most influential thrash metal bands in history, and has spent four decades as one of rock’s most recognizable guitarists.
But a recent interview with PokerNews has shed light on a far less conventional chapter of his career: a years-long obsession with online poker that grew intense enough to follow him onto the stage.
How online poker followed Scott Ian onto the stage
Ian’s entry into serious poker came through an unlikely door. In 2006, he took part in a VH1-hosted celebrity poker event at the Flamingo Las Vegas that brought together some of rock’s biggest names — including Vinnie Paul, Ace Frehley, Dusty Hill and Godsmack frontman Sully Erna. Ian won the tournament despite having little competitive experience, and that victory sparked a lasting interest.
His passion for Texas Hold’em quickly grew from casual to consuming. Ian began entering Sunday online tournaments regularly, and the scheduling conflicts with Anthrax shows soon became a problem he solved unconventionally.
When he found himself running deep in a tournament right as the band was due onstage, he brought his laptop with him. He would set it up near his guitar tech’s station on the side of the stage and alternate between performing and checking the game between songs.
“There were times I’d find myself in a Sunday tournament. I’d be running deep, and then the band is about to go on stage, and I’m thinking, what do I do?”
With songs averaging four to six minutes each, Ian had just enough time between sets to assess the situation. He kept his guitar tech briefed on the basics of Hold’em and left standing orders — including instructions to fold anything below nines — for how to play in his absence.
The arrangement occasionally produced results. Ian recalled that his tech won pots on his behalf more than once, and whenever a session ended in a cash finish, he would pay the tech out at the end of the game.
How a rock star became a sponsored online poker player
What began as a scheduling workaround eventually turned into a full commitment. In March 2008, Ian signed a professional sponsorship agreement with Ultimate Bet, then one of the largest online poker sites in operation, marking the beginning of a three-year run as a sponsored player.
The deal connected him with coaching from poker legends Phil Hellmuth, an 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, and Annie Duke, a longtime tournament professional. Both spent a week working with Ian on the fundamentals of the game.
The investment paid off quickly. Ian described his early results in six-seat turbo sit-and-gos as remarkably consistent. At home in Los Angeles, he played 16 to 20 tables simultaneously on a large monitor, logging up to 90 hours a week at the virtual felt while balancing his commitments to Anthrax.
His accomplishments during that stretch were substantial. He won Ultimate Bet’s flagship Sunday 200K tournament, appeared on the Best Damn Poker Show, and finished 634th out of 6,494 entrants in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event — earning a cash payout. He also played in home games alongside celebrities, including Steve Martin.
Ian’s sponsored run ended in 2011, partly due to the April 2011 US Department of Justice crackdown — known as “Black Friday” — that effectively shut down online poker for American players and led to indictments against the operators of the country’s three largest sites.
Scott Ian returns to the stage — but is the laptop still nearby?
Today, Ian’s focus has returned to music. As reported by Guitar.com, Anthrax are currently on the European leg of Iron Maiden’s Run for Your Lives World Tour, supporting one of heavy metal’s all-time headline acts across a string of stadium and arena dates.
Whether Ian has kept up with poker on this tour remains to be seen — but given his track record, a laptop somewhere close to the stage is not entirely out of the question.
