In the poker community, Rick Salomon is known for his brash personality and monster scores in major tournaments. To the rest of the world, he’s known as the guy who betrayed Paris Hilton by profiting off of their sex tape. Now that the show High Stakes Poker has been rebooted, there’s been renewed interest in Salomon. Here’s what we know about the larger-than-life personality who’s seen playing alongside legends like Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan.
Who Is Rick Salomon?
Rick Salomon was born Richard Allan Salomon on January 24, 1968 in Neptune Township, New Jersey. It’s been reported (but not confirmed) that he is the son of Robert Salomon, a former top executive at Warner Bros. Little is known about his early life except that he got his start in the entertainment industry in the early 2000s. His first formal credit was as an executive producer for the 2002 film American Girl. More recently, he was an executive producer (along with fellow poker player Randall Emmett) of Gotti starring John Travolta.
Over the last decade, Salomon has been better known for his success on the felt. As a professional poker player, he boasts nearly $10 million in live tournament earnings. His best finishes are for three separate “The Big One for One Drop” events at the World Series of Poker: fourth place at the 2014 WSOP in Las Vegas ($2.8 million), third place for the 2016 WSOP in Monte Carlo ($3,307,206), and fourth place at the 2018 WSOP in Vegas again ($2.84 million).
Outside of tournaments, Salomon is also a notable high-stakes cash game player. Check out this replay of a game from 2019, when he won a nearly $1 million pot in a single hand.
In addition to being a high roller and Hollywood hotshot, Salomon is a serial celebrity dater. His history of romances with A-listers is nothing short of scandalous.
Rick Salomon Was The Man In “1 Night In Paris”
In 2001, Salomon was dating socialite and The Simple Life star Paris Hilton. He convinced the then 19-year-old to participate in a sex tape under the guise that it would remain private. Instead, in 2004 (shortly after the debut of her FOX show), the tape was leaked. Salomon then marketed the footage himself under the title 1 Night in Paris.
Hilton was humiliated, telling Piers Morgan in 2011 that she “just felt so betrayed. This was not some random guy. This was someone I was with for a few years.” Watch the full interview below:
Shortly following the release, Hilton sued both Salomon and the DVD’s distributor. She reportedly settled with her ex out of court and he was ordered to pay her at least $400,000. However, she told TMZ in 2013 that she “never made a dollar” off the footage.
For his part, Salomon has shown no remorse for his actions. He even gives himself a producer credit for the tape on his IMDb page.
“Everybody thought I released this tape, so, you know, now I‘m at least getting some reward, so no there‘s not any downside to me releasing it right now,” Salomon told MSNBC’s Dan Abrams in 2004. “I don‘t feel any guilt about it … It‘s not ruining her life and it sort of ruined my life and now I‘m capitalizing on it.”
Needless to say, the couple called it quits. The only surprising outcome is the fact that famous women continued to date him after the incident.
Rick Salomon’s Four Marriages
In 1995, prior to dating Hilton, Salomon married E.G. Daily, a voice actress best known for her role as Tommy in Rugrats. The couple was married for five years and had two daughters: Hunter and Tyson.
Oddly enough, Hunter went on to date Paris’ younger brother Conrad Hilton. In the same fashion as her dad’s relationships, the romance ended poorly. In 2015, Hunter filed for a restraining order against Conrad. Two years later, he was arrested for breaking into her home and violating the order. He was later placed on a psychiatric hold.
In 2002, Salomon wed his second bride, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed star Shannon Doherty. The two apparently got hitched after knowing each other for only two days. Not surprisingly, the marriage was annulled after nine months. There’s no word on the reason for the break-up, but it wasn’t a complete surprise; Doherty’s previous marriage to Ashley Hamilton didn’t last a year, either.
The third time’s a charm, right? Not so for Salomon. On October 6, 2007, he married Pamela Anderson in Las Vegas. “I paid off a poker debt with sexual favors, and I fell in love,” the Baywatch star revealed to Ellen DeGeneres. “It’s so romantic. It’s romance.”
But by December, she filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Both parties filed for an annulment citing fraud, and it was granted in March 2008.
In 2014, Salomon was married a fourth time. To Pamela Anderson. Yes, again. And by July, Anderson filed for divorce (yes, again.) The petition was approved in April 2015 and Salomon was ordered to pay Anderson a $1 million settlement, which sounds like peanuts based on what his ex-wife alleged he’s worth.
What Is Rick Salomon’s Net Worth?
Celebrity Net Worth estimates that Rick Salomon is worth $50 million. It’s hard to judge the accuracy of that figure since poker players are notorious for having a volatile bankroll.
However, the astronomical number is entirely plausible. In 2015, Page Six reported Anderson claimed that Salomon hid $40 million in earnings from a private high stakes game. She also said her ex dodged taxes by claiming Nevada as his legal residence when they actually lived in Malibu, California.
Whatever the true number is, don’t expect it to be the same tomorrow. As long as Salomon continues to play poker, the number will swing significantly higher or lower on any given day.