Where Is Molly Bloom Now? Her Case, Book and Life Today

Molly Bloom, the former mogul skier who ran some of the highest-stakes private poker games in Los Angeles and New York, is now a keynote speaker and author. She pleaded guilty in December 2013 in a federal illegal-gambling case and on 2 May 2014 was sentenced to one year of probation, 200 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine, with $125,000 forfeited. Her 2014 memoir, Molly’s Game, became the 2017 Aaron Sorkin film starring Jessica Chastain.

This page sets out what is documented about her life and case, with dates and sources: the games, the arrest, the plea and sentence, the book and film, and what she does today. It sticks to the public record and to what Bloom has said herself, and leaves out rumour about who sat at her tables.

Molly Bloom at a glance

Molly Bloom timeline

From mogul skier to poker host

Bloom grew up in Loveland, Colorado, and skied moguls at a competitive level. She was a member of the US Ski Team and ranked third in women’s moguls in the Nor-Am Cup, the North American circuit below the World Cup. She did not compete at the Olympics.

In 2004 she moved to Los Angeles and took work as a bartender. By her own account, a job assisting a businessman who hosted a weekly private game led her into organising high-stakes poker for wealthy players, starting with practical tasks such as booking rooms, arranging dealers and keeping track of buy-ins. By 2008 the games had moved into private homes and hotel suites such as the Peninsula Beverly Hills, with hands reported as high as $4 million.

Her memoir describes a player list that included Hollywood actors, athletes and financiers; when the book was announced in 2014, coverage focused on her account of a Los Angeles game involving Tobey Maguire. Around 2009 she moved to New York, where she set up games for a new circle of players, including Wall Street figures, in hotels such as The Plaza.

Why the New York games crossed the line

The legal problem was not poker itself. In New York, playing in a private game is not a crime, but profiting from it as the house is. According to PokerNews’ coverage of her plea, the games she and others ran at The Plaza took a rake (a cut from each pot), which is illegal in New York State. A rake turns a social game into a gambling business.

New York’s Penal Law draws the line in its definitions (section 225.00). A “player” is someone who gambles “solely as a contestant or bettor” and receives nothing beyond personal winnings. Anyone who, other than as a player, “materially aids” gambling (setting up the game, soliciting players, arranging the money) is advancing gambling activity, and anyone who takes a share of the proceeds under an agreement is profiting from it. Those two roles, not the act of playing, are what the state’s promoting-gambling offences target.

Once that happens, federal law can apply as well. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1955, an “illegal gambling business” is one that breaks state law, involves five or more people who run, finance or own it, and either operates for more than 30 days or takes in $2,000 or more in a single day. Anyone who runs such a business faces up to five years in prison. That five-year ceiling is the figure reported as Bloom’s maximum exposure when she pleaded guilty.

For readers who host their own games, the practical rule is simple: in most states a private game where the host takes nothing from the pots is treated very differently from one with a rake or a fee. State law varies, so check yours before charging anything. Our guide to playing poker with friends covers private and online options, and for New York specifically, see the legal status of online poker in New York.

The 2013 arrest and the 2014 sentence

On 16 April 2013, Bloom was one of 34 people arrested and charged in a federal case in New York that prosecutors described as a $100 million money laundering and illegal sports gambling operation, with links to Russian-American organised crime. Her part of the case concerned the poker games.

She pleaded guilty on 12 December 2013. Under the plea deal, as reported at the time, she was set to receive probation or up to six months in prison rather than the five-year maximum, and agreed to forfeit $125,000.

Sentencing took place on 2 May 2014 before US District Judge Jesse M. Furman. Bloom, then 36, received:

• one year of probation;
• 200 hours of community service;
• a $1,000 fine;
• forfeiture of $125,000, as agreed in the plea.

Judge Furman said prison would be too harsh because she had played a minor role in a betting operation with links to Russian-American organised crime. Prosecutors had not asked for a prison term. Reports from the hearing also noted that the judge raised her forthcoming memoir and wanted assurance that it would not contradict what she had told the court.

Molly’s Game: the book

Bloom’s memoir, published on 24 June 2014 by It Books, a HarperCollins imprint, carries the full title Molly’s Game: From Hollywood’s Elite to Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker. It runs to 272 pages and covers her skiing years, the Los Angeles and New York games and the federal case. HarperCollins later issued a film tie-in edition.

In the book and later interviews, Bloom has described being threatened and attacked in New York by men who claimed links to organised crime, and her struggle with drugs during the final years of the games. She told PokerNews in 2023 that she had been held at gunpoint and beaten. These are her own accounts.

Molly’s Game: the film

Aaron Sorkin adapted the memoir and directed the film himself, his first time as a director. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2017, opened in a limited US release on 25 December 2017 and went wide on 5 January 2018. STX Entertainment distributed it in the US, and it grossed about $59.3 million worldwide.

Chastain received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama, and Sorkin’s screenplay was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as at the Golden Globes, the Writers Guild of America Awards and the BAFTAs. Player X, the film’s most memorable gambler, is a composite character rather than a portrait of one real person, so treat claims that he “is” a particular actor with caution.

The film follows the book closely in outline but changes names, merges characters and dramatises conversations, as most biopics do. Readers who want the documented version should rely on the court record and contemporary reporting summarised above.

How to read or watch it today

The memoir remains in print from HarperCollins, alongside the film tie-in edition. The film’s streaming home has changed several times since 2017 and differs by country, so a statement that it is “on Netflix” may be out of date; a streaming search service or your provider’s catalogue will show where it is available now. Watching the film after reading the book is a useful way to see how much Sorkin compressed: several years of games and two cities fit into about two and a half hours.

Where is Molly Bloom now?

As of October 2026, Bloom’s public work centres on speaking and media. Her speaker profile with the National Speakers Bureau lists her as a keynote speaker. Her listed talks are titled “Molly’s Game: The True Story”, “Engage, Connect and Level Up With Affective Presence”, “Defying the Odds” and “Make Every Customer Feel Like A High Roller”, which shows how she now frames the story: as business and resilience lessons rather than poker. The profile also lists her as co-founder of One World Group, set up in 2020 with her husband, Devin Effinger, and as a mentor and advocate for women.

From 2022 she hosted and executive-produced Torched, a podcast series that looks at Olympic controversies and the human cost of elite competition. It ran for two seasons, and her speaker profile says it won two Gold Signal awards. Bloom had her first child, a daughter, on 8 February 2022.

Her public appearances, including TV, podcasts and conference keynotes, mostly revisit the story of the games and what she says she learned from losing everything at the end of them.

Common myths about Molly Bloom

• “She was an Olympic skier.” She skied moguls for the US Ski Team and ranked third in the Nor-Am Cup, but never competed at the Winter Olympics.
• “She went to prison.” She did not. Her May 2014 sentence was probation, community service, a $1,000 fine and a $125,000 forfeiture.
• “The film is a documentary-accurate account.” It is a dramatisation of her memoir, with changed names and composite characters such as Player X.
• “Playing in her game was a crime.” Under New York’s definitions, a player who only bets and keeps personal winnings is treated differently from those who run or profit from the game.
• “Torched started in 2020.” The podcast launched in 2022, with Bloom as host and executive producer.

What the case says about private high-stakes poker

Bloom’s story is often told as glamour, but the legal lesson is narrow and practical. The games became criminal because the house took money from the pots, and federal exposure followed because the operation was large and continuous.

For anyone drawn to high stakes today, the regulated routes are casino poker rooms, licensed tournament tours such as the World Poker Tour, and state-licensed online poker where it is legal. Big swings can hurt even wealthy players, as Bloom’s own account of the final years shows. If gambling stops being fun, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), and our responsible gambling page lists support and self-exclusion options.

Interested in other big-money poker personalities? Read our piece on Dan Bilzerian’s net worth, our selection of the most exciting poker tournament moments, or brush up with our poker hand rankings guide.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Molly Bloom now?

As of October 2026, Molly Bloom works as a keynote speaker and author. She hosted two seasons of the podcast Torched from 2022 and co-founded One World Group with her husband, Devin Effinger, in 2020, according to her speaker profile.

Did Molly Bloom go to jail?

No. On 2 May 2014, US District Judge Jesse M. Furman sentenced her to one year of probation, 200 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine, and she forfeited $125,000 under her plea agreement. The judge said prison would be too harsh given her minor role in the wider case.

What was Molly Bloom charged with?

She was arrested on 16 April 2013 as one of 34 defendants in a federal case that prosecutors described as a $100 million illegal sports gambling and money laundering operation. In December 2013 she pleaded guilty in connection with running illegal high-stakes poker games in New York.

Is Molly’s Game a true story?

Yes, in outline. The 2017 film is based on Bloom’s 2014 memoir of the same name, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. Like most biopics it changes names and compresses events, and its Player X is a composite character rather than one real person.

Why was Molly Bloom’s poker game illegal?

Hosting a private poker game is not a crime in itself in New York, but taking a cut of each pot (a rake) is. Reporting on her plea said the games she helped run at The Plaza took a rake, which made them illegal gambling.

Who played Molly Bloom in the movie?

Jessica Chastain played Bloom in Molly’s Game, with Idris Elba as her lawyer and Kevin Costner as her father. Chastain earned a Golden Globe nomination, and Sorkin’s screenplay was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Was Molly Bloom an Olympic skier?

No. She was a competitive mogul skier and a member of the US Ski Team, and she ranked third in women’s moguls in the Nor-Am Cup, but she did not compete at the Olympics.

Did Molly Bloom get her money back?

No. Under her December 2013 plea deal she agreed to forfeit $125,000, and when she was sentenced on 2 May 2014 the court ordered that forfeiture along with a $1,000 fine, one year of probation and 200 hours of community service. She now works as an author and keynote speaker; her memoir Molly’s Game became the 2017 film.