Poker Player, Actor James Woods’ SoCal Home Burns Down in Los Angeles Wildfires

The wildfires around Los Angeles has caused devastation to the area, impacting the lives of thousands of people, including two prominent entertainers within the poker community.

Actor James Woods, in a video on CNN, broke down in tears describing the fire that left his Pacific Palisades home in shambles. Jennifer Tilly, actress and poker player, along with her significant other Phil Laak, shared on Instagram that the couple left home to avoid the fires while staying at Commerce Casino.

Tilly, a regular on High Stakes Poker and a Hollywood star, referred on X to the Pacific Palisades area, which is right in the heart of the fires, as a “really beautiful area that never lost its small town feeling.”

“It’s tragic to see it decimated like this,” Tilly continued.

Poker Enthusiast Breaks Down on CNN

Woods, who annually competes in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and often plays mixed games at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, appeared on CNN Wednesday to share a devastating personal story. The co-star of the box office hit Casino said his family was “in the exact epicenter of the fire as it started” on Tuesday.

He then described the affluent community he resides in — the Pacific Palisades — as “almost like an old-fashioned neighborhood.”

“All the neighbors know each other, we all have each other’s phone numbers, and people are very aware that we’re in a fire zone,” Woods explained in a 13-minute interview on CNN.

Woods and his neighbors were evacuated from the area due to the ongoing fires. He gave a passionate plea and some advice to those who refused to evacuate or stuck around trying to help.

“Here’s the thing that’s so important — people have got to evacuate when they tell you to evacuate, because if you don’t evacuate and you think you’re going to be out there in your little garden hose stopping flames 80 feet high in 90-mile-per-hour winds, you’re not going to be helping,” Woods said as he broke down in tears. “You’re just going to be stopping the firefighters who do such an amazing job.”

The 77-year-old poker player is one of thousands of people forced to evacuate their homes over the past day. CBS News reported that at least five people have died due to the blaze.

The Palisades fire remains uncontained and has grown to over 16,000 acres. Multiple other fires around the Los Angeles area have broken out, causing destruction around America’s second largest metro area. California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency.

Over 70,000 residents are under evacuation orders from Los Angeles County, according to the Associated Press. Santa Monica, Altadena, and Pasadena were among the towns hit the hardest by the fires. The AP also reported that more than 1.5 million residents were without power on Wednesday.