A day after raking in $US15 million ($A14.96 million) at a fundraiser hosted by George Clooney, President Barack Obama's thriving rapport with his Oscar-winning buddy took a new turn - on the basketball court.
The US commander-in-chief and the screen actor-cum-activist (dubbed the celebrity-in-chief) enjoyed an early morning game of hoops in Los Angeles, before Obama headed to Nevada to cap a two-day west coast swing.
In a match-up of superheroes, Clooney, who once played Batman, was joined by Spiderman actor Tobey Maguire, and members of Obama's travelling staff at a recreation centre near the president's Beverly Hills hotel, officials said.
Later, Obama was asked at a stop in Reno, Nevada how the game had gone.
"Of course, George and I won but we're all winners because nobody got hurt," he told reporters, no doubt remembering the 2010 pickup game in which a stray elbow from a fellow player gave him a fat lip.
Obama is a basketball fan, and sometimes plays on weekends with cabinet members and friends in Washington.
He also famously used to shoot hoops as a good luck tradition early morning on key election days during his race for the Democratic nomination against Hillary Clinton in 2008.
Clooney's star-studded fundraiser, uniting Washington power and Hollywood glamour, was the most lucrative single day that Obama has spent piling up cash so far in his race to the November election against Republican foe Mitt Romney.
About 150 guests paid $US40,000 a ticket to get into the exclusive soiree, the latest in a string of big-money events as Obama builds an expensive campaign machine for his re-election and buys top dollar advertising slots.
The guest list included A-listers from Barbra Streisand and Robert Downey Jr to Jack Black, Billy Crystal, Maguire, Salma Hayek and fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg.
