He may be the son of a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, but Vince Van Patten is better known for his involvement in the poker world. The son of Dick Van Patten has been a professional poker player and co-host of the WPT since 2002, but will soon appear on the big screen, starring in the indie film “Walk To Vegas.”
Van Patten is Duke, the lead character of the film. He makes a bet with an interesting character that challenges him to walk all the way from Southern California to Las Vegas—in a suit. If he wins the bet, he picks up a hefty $1-million prize. However, Duke has to travel through Death Valley, where the daytime temperatures can reach more than 106 degrees.
Van Patten will be seen alongside cameo performances by other poker greats, including former WPT co-host Mike Sexton, Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari. Academy Award-nominee Jennifer Tilly, who has made a name for herself as a poker pro, picking up almost $1 million in the process, will also be in the film.
If the premise of the flick sounds familiar but you can’t quite place it, maybe this will help. Dan Bilzerian took part in a prop bet in 2016 that would see him bicycle from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, a 300-mile journey. If he won, he would pick up around $1 million. Bill Perkins got in on the action to the tune of $600,000, not expecting Bilzerian to pull it off. He lost.
Van Patten isn’t a newcomer to the screen and he may be a little rusty, but can pull off an exceptional performance. He was a child star on shows such as Wonder Woman and Bonanza and most recently appeared in episodes of The Young and the Restless and Baywatch.
Before getting into poker, Van Patten was a successful tennis player, ranking as high as 26th in the world. He officially retired from the game in 1987 and went on to be one of the most well-known commentators for poker, appearing beside Mike Sexton and, more recently, Tony Dunst.
The movie was filmed last year and is expected to be released sometime later this year. There are several key components to making a successful full-feature film—it needs to have action, some drama and comedy and gratuitous nudity. Walk to Vegas has them all and the trailer can be found here.
