You can bet on it.

Actress Essence Atkins has an Ace up her sleeve, American Idol’s Ace Young, to be exact.

TMZ.com is reporting that the actress, who currently starring in Half & Half, is dating the popular reality show contestant. While the news just recently became public, courtesy of some chatty Idol contestants, Essence and Ace have allegedly been dating for about a year, even sharing screen time last October on her UPN series. Talk about a winning hand…