Because of schedules, Sir Idris Elba and Jessica Chastain had only 10 days to shoot. They shot 45 pages in the first 6 days. They rehearsed off-set before shooting began, and between takes.
According to Molly Bloom, the most money she'd ever seen lost in a card game session in one night was $100 million. The losing player settled the debt the following day.
Molly Bloom told Aaron Sorkin that she wanted Jessica Chastain to play her. Bloom is a year younger than Chastain in real life.
During one of the earlier poker games in the movie, one of the players can be seen wearing headphones. This is no doubt a nod to Leonardo DiCaprio who, according to the book, wore headphones and listened to music while playing during Molly's early games. DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire are close friends.