Actor and director Ben Affleck has been banned from playing blackjack at a casino in Mandalay, Myanmar after staff there accused him of cheating.
According to hotel officials, Affleck was caught counting cards - a move which is legal in some casinos but frowned upon as it gives the player an advantage.
“He’s not welcome here anymore,” said one employee.
Affleck has yet to comment on the ban.
Actor Ben Affleck has been banned from playing blackjack in any of Myanmar’s casinos, according to a report from the Associated Press.
The story cites an unnamed casino employee as the source of the information, who said that Affleck had been “banned from playing at any of our tables because he is too good.” The ban is said to have come into effect about a week ago.
Myanmar is one of the few countries where casinos are legal, and they have become increasingly popular in recent years. According to the AP report, there are now about a dozen casinos in the country, most of them located in or near the capital city of Naypyitaw.
Affleck is well-known as a blackjack enthusiast, and he even wrote a book on the subject called “Bringing Down The House: The Inside Story Of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas For Millions.” In 2009, he testified before Congress about his experiences playing blackjack in order to help support efforts to legalize the game in Massachusetts.
It’s not clear why Affleck was specifically singled out for a ban by Myanmar’s casinos, but it’s possible that his high level of skill at the game has made him too much of a threat to their bottom lines. Blackjack is typically one of the most profitable games for casinos, so it’s no surprise that they would want to do whatever they can to keep players like Affleck away.
As of Wednesday, September 19th, Ben Affleck is no longer allowed to play blackjack in any casino in Myanmar. This ban comes after the actor was caught counting cards at the Mandalay Bay casino this past Sunday.
Affleck was reportedly asked to leave the casino by security after they noticed him counting cards. The Oscar-winning actor was in town filming for an upcoming Netflix movie when the incident occurred.
A representative for the Mandalay Bay casino released a statement saying, “Mr. Affleck was observed counting cards overall gaming activity at our property on Sunday and Monday evening. Our agents approached him and asked him to cease his activities which he did.”
Affleck has not yet commented on the ban, but it’s likely that he won’t be too upset about it given that he’s now on a winning streak.
Actor Ben Affleck is not welcome in any Myanmar casino resorts anymore after his recent comments on the country’s military government. The actor has been a vocal critic of the Southeast Asian nation’s ruling regime, which he has accused of “ethnic cleansing” against the Rohingya Muslim minority.
“I am appalled by the Burmese military’s brutal crackdown on the Rohingya,” Affleck said in a statement last month. “It’s deplorable that the military is using rape as a weapon to terrorize families and drive them from their homes. I am proud to be working with [Rohingya activist] Yousaf Merhi and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi to raise awareness of this crisis and support the work of the UNHCR and other NGOs on the ground. We can’t let this go unnoticed.”
The actor was scheduled to appear at a charity event in Yangon this week, but it was abruptly cancelled after casino operators received orders from the government not to allow him inside their establishments. Affleck has since announced that he is cancelling his trip to Burma altogether.
This isn’t the first time Affleck has run afoul of Myanmar authorities; in 2012 he was banned from entering the country after making similar comments about the Rohingya situation. It seems that with new civilian leadership in place, the government is keen to show that it won’t tolerate criticism from abroad.
Hollywood star Ben Affleck has been banned from playing blackjack in all Myanmar casinos, authorities have said.
Affleck was notified of the ban at Yangon International Airport on Sunday as he arrived in the country to shoot a new film.
“We can confirm that Mr. Affleck is not allowed to play blackjack in any casino in Myanmar,” an official from the country’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism told AFP. “He was informed of this policy when he arrived in the country.”
The move comes after the actor was caught counting cards during a game at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas last year. Card counting is not illegal, but casinos often bar players from participating if they are suspected of doing so.
Affleck is not the first celebrity to be banned from gambling in Myanmar. In 2013, actress Brooke Shields was barred from playing blackjack at the Golden Keg Casino in Mandalay after she was caught counting cards.
Officials did not give a reason for Affleck’s ban, but it is likely that it is related to his previous run-in with casino security.