Fame & Fortune: Poker Champion Annie Duke
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Bankrate: Do the hotels and casinos give you preferential VIP treatment, or are you on your own when you play?

Annie Duke: I pay my own way.

Bankrate: But the casinos are making money just by advertising you are there.

Annie Duke: That's true. I have been arguing that for years. They feel that since I make money on the side, with my projects, I don't need anything from them. But, it's the only sport where the players have to pay to play! You don't see football players paying every week, they get paid. And, the NFL people get to do endorsements. Nobody said to Ray Romano, "You got all these outside opportunities, so you should pay CBS every week." When there's a $10,000 buy-in, I have to pay the casino $10,500; they charge for paying the dealer.

Bankrate: You often play against your brother, Howard Lederer. You know him, and he knows you. How does that change the way you play?

Annie Duke: We actually read each other poorly. But he taught me how to play, so I know how he thinks.

Bankrate: You've written about the "new house curse," where players who take on a mortgage or other responsibility start playing poorly, though they need the money more. People with uncertain income, such as sales, face the same dilemma. What advice do you have?

Annie Duke: Poker players have an interesting disconnect about the value of money. You have to look at the chips on the table, even if it's $100,000, like tools, like a hammer. You can't look at it like money. Now, you can't have that disconnect when you aren't playing, outside the game. Many do, they don't see the value of money and spend it like water. They go broke.

Bankrate: Do you manage your own money?

Annie Duke: Yes. I have one large position in the stock market, so I'm diversified elsewhere. I have a 401(k), of course.

Bankrate: Do you still have rental properties in Montana? What other investments do you have?

Annie Duke: I do. I own two single-family homes in Montana; I will never sell them because I paid for them with money I won from my first World Series of Poker. They have huge sentimental value. I have a manager managing them. I also have other real estate and start-up businesses and my production company.