Poker keeps getting more and more popular, especially as well-known celebrities, musicians, and athletes show up at the poker tables at big tournaments like the World Series of Poker Main Event. The Main Event is the world’s largest poker tournament each year, attracting not only top poker pros but plenty of celebs as well looking to play a little poker and get plenty of face time for the ESPN cameras recording all of the action.

Of the musicians that have played in the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, most treat it more as a pr stunt and aren’t exactly students of the game of poker, showing up to have some fun and yuck it up for the cameras; Nelly, Coolio, and others fall into this category. But plenty of musicians take their poker serious, with a few turning in excellent results at the WSOP and other tournaments. Sully Erna of Godsmack has cashed twice in the Main Event in 2006 and 2007, as well as placing 2nd in a tournament at the Bellagio for $307,325.

French singer Patrick Bruel, though, takes the crown of musicians at the poker tables, having played big tournaments regularly since the mid 1990s and earning more than $1 million in lifetime cashes. He also won a WSOP bracelet in 1998 (as well as $224,000 in cash for the victory) and has had great results in World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour events, with numerous cashes over $100,000 in the last ten years.

Scott Ian of Anthrax is also an avid poker player who’s participated in the Main Event several times — and even claimed to have arranged Anthrax’s touring schedule around the Main Event some years. He jumped on the online poker sites bandwagon early on and plays regularly while on the road, as well as slinging chips in his regular metal home game that includes the likes of Jerry Cantrell, Kirk Hammett, Slash, and Vinnie Paul.