WPT’s Vince Van Patten was child actor, tennis star
Vince Van Patten has to be the only person in the world who has beaten John McEnroe in a tennis tournament (twice), cashed in in the World Series of Poker (Main Event, 2010) and appeared on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
The enthusiastic co-host of the World Poker Tour learned how to play poker as a kid when his dad, “Eight Is Enough” star Dick Van Patten, hosted games at the family’s home in Sherman Oaks.
The younger Van Patten had appeared in “Bonanza” and “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” among other shows but wasn’t getting many offers when he hit his late teens.
“I was supposed to star in a movie called 'Players’ with Ali MacGraw about a tennis player,” he said.
The pinnacle of his tennis career was winning the 1981 Tokyo Indoor, a Grand Prix event won by Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors the two previous years.
[...] in his 13th season calling World Poker Tour events, he and broadcast partner Mike Sexton remain “really excited” about the game because “you always see something different,” he said.