How Molly Bloom went from 'poker princess' to the 'movie heroine' of 'Molly's Game'

A hotel manager was circling the Polo Lounge, surveying the stately dining room, when he suddenly did a double take. I thought I saw you come in," he said. "Mind if I sit -- just briefly?" Stephen Boggs, the director of guest relations at the Beverly Hills Hotel, slid into the booth where Bloom was having breakfast. The two had met in the early 2000s, when she began hosting underground poker games for the entertainment industry elite in the hotel's private bungalows. She'd returned to the venue last month to talk about a new Aaron Sorkin movie based on her life, "Molly's Game," which follows her journey into the secretive world of high-stakes poker -- one that ultimately led to her arrest by the FBI in 2013. Bloom says that the celebrities who frequented her games -- Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Todd Phillips -- have never reached out to her following her brush with the feds. But Boggs, at least, seemed ready and willing to welcome her back into the Hollywood fray. After chatting with her for a few moments, he offered her his business card and urged her to follow up with him. "It's so great to see you," he gushed. "You look terrific, and congratulations on everything.