Player Profile

Penn Jillette - Master of Illusion

Penn Jillette - Master of Illusion

Fact File

Age: 43

Born: Los Angeles, CA

Resides: Los Angeles, CA

Featured in: Episode 3

Key stats: With his partner Teller, has been mixing comedy and magic around the world for more than 25 years.

Did you know?: Wrote the book "How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker".

Also in Episode: Clonie Gowen, David Williams, Ted Forrest, Allen Cunningham, Jennifer Tilly

Fact File

While the name Penn Jillette might not be familiar to you, you’ve almost certainly heard of the magic duo Penn and Teller. At 6 foot 6 inches, Penn is the larger and more talkative half of Penn and Teller, and his commanding presence will no doubt serve him well at the poker table.

Penn is no stranger to spending time in front of the camera; in addition to his magic career, he has also acted in a variety of shows. He has guest-starred on Miami Vice and Friends. You might also remember him from his role as a super-computer administrator in the movie Hackers. Penn has also spent some time on the other side of the camera; recently he co-produced and co-directed The Aristocrats, a popular documentary film tracing the life of the joke, "The Aristocrats".

Penn lives and works in Las Vegas; however, he doesn’t tend to gamble that much. You could say that he has more than a passing interest in poker, though. Penn wrote an entire book on how to cheat at the poker table. We’re sure the pros and everyone else will be watching him carefully to keep him on the straight and narrow. After all, a world-class magician who has written a book on how to cheat at poker is a dangerous opponent.

In the event that Penn doesn’t have any aces up his sleeves, he’s going to have to play some top-notch poker to compete with the Equalizer pros.