Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan (born March 31, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, poker commentator, and professional poker player.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for his role as Gabriel "Gabe" Kotter in the 1970s sitcom, ''Welcome Back, Kotter,'' but he has become more visible in recent years in relation to the popularity of poker, especially the "No-Limit Texas Hold-'Em" type, particularly as co-host and joint commentator, with A.J. Benza, on previous seasons of ''High Stakes Poker'' on GSN. Kaplan was replaced by fellow comedian and celebrity poker player Norm Macdonald for the show's seventh season.

Acting career

As a boy, Kaplan had aspirations of being a Major League Baseball player. However, he was unable to make the roster of a minor league team and decided to pursue other interests. He began working as a bellman at a hotel in Lakewood, New Jersey. Touring comedians would sometimes perform at the hotel, and Kaplan began to work toward his own career as a stand-up comedian.

Kaplan's comedy was successful, and he toured the country with his act based on his childhood experiences in Brooklyn. He appeared five times on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' from May 1973 to December 1974. During this period he also recorded the comedy album ''Holes and Mello-Rolls,'' which included long routines about his high-school days, among other topics; the sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter,'' whose central characters he helped Eric Cohen and Alan Sacks create and whose core format he helped them to develop, was in part based on his comedy act. In the sitcom, Kaplan played Gabe Kotter, who returns as a teacher to the dysfunctional high school where he had himself been a student. The series ran from 1975 to 1979.

From 1976-1978, Kaplan served as team captain for ABC in the "Battle of the Network Stars". In 1976, as ABC team captain, Kaplan out-sprinted a disgruntled Robert Conrad in a show-down to determine the final winner. Kaplan passed Conrad with a strong sprint to the finish line, giving ABC television network the win with 175 points.

After ''Welcome Back, Kotter,'' Kaplan continued with his stand-up act and was in several movies including a starring role in ''Fast Break'' in 1979, and portrayed comic Groucho Marx in a one-man show. In 1981, he starred in the TV series ''Lewis & Clark'', which ran for one season, and served as team captain for NBC in the "Battle of the Network Stars" in that year.

Poker

Kaplan became involved in financial markets and poker during his acting career. He made his first appearance at the World Series of Poker in 1978. In 1980, Kaplan was considered one of poker's elite as he won Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker (SBOP) Main event and was presented with "a loving cup that was so enormous it made the gaudy gold bracelets given to the winners at the World Series of Poker look understated." Over the next five years his reputation was solidified as he made the final table at the Super Bowl's Main Event two more times and finished in sixth place at the WSOP Main Event in 1980. He made numerous other SBOP and WSOP final tables.

In July 2004, he finished third in a World Poker Tour no-limit Texas hold 'em event, earning more than $250,000. He also finished second in the $5000 2005 World Series of Poker Limit Hold 'Em event, winning $222,515. Kaplan was joint TV commentator for the 1997 and 2002 WSOP events. In 2007, Kaplan won on NBC's ''Poker After Dark'' in the episode "Queens and Kings" after defeating Kristy Gazes heads-up and outlasting Howard Lederer, Ali Nejad, Vanessa Rousso and Annie Duke.

In the 2007 World Series of Poker Kaplan finished in 9th place in the $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E event winning $131,424; Freddy Deeb eventually won the event after defeating Bruno Fitoussi in heads-up play.

As of 2009, Kaplan's total live tournament winnings exceeded $1,300,000. His 9 cashes at the WSOP account for $497,659 of those winnings.

Kaplan won again on ''Poker After Dark'' during "Cowboys" week that first aired in February 2008 against Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Chau Giang, Hoyt Corkins and Doyle Brunson.

Gabe Kaplan's "Poker After Dark" win in the first week of the 2010 Season, "Commentators III" week, marked the greatest comeback in the show's history.

Current activities

Kaplan has resumed performing stand-up comedy and is also working on adaptations of ''Welcome Back, Kotter.'' He still plays poker frequently and became a commentator for poker events and televised poker shows, most recently the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, in 2005 and 2006, on NBC, ''High Stakes Poker'', on GSN, and the Intercontinental Poker Championship.

In 2007, he appeared in Zak Penn's improvisational comedy, ''The Grand'', as, "Seth Schwartzman," father of brother and sister poker players.

In January 2011, GSN announced that Norm Macdonald would replace Kaplan as host of ''High Stakes Poker''.

References

External links

World Poker Tour profile

Hendon Mob tournament results

Gabe Kaplan Official Web Site

Category:1945 births Category:People from New York City Category:American film actors Category:American impressionists (entertainers) Category:American poker players Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:Poker commentators Category:Super Bowl of Poker event winners

cs:Gabe Kaplan de:Gabe Kaplan fr:Gabe Kaplan sv:Gabe Kaplan

Name	Scotty Nguyen
Nickname	The TrainThe Prince of Poker
Birth date	October 28, 1962
Wsop bracelet count	5
Wsop money finishes	37
Wsop main event best finish rank	Winner
Wsop main event best finish year	1998
Wpt titles	1
Wpt final tables	8
Wpt money finishes	17
Ept titles	''None''
Ept final tables	0
Ept money finishes	1
Updated	2010-03-14 }}

Thuận B. "Scotty" Nguyễn (born October 28, 1962 in Nha Trang, Vietnam) is a Vietnamese American professional poker player who is a five time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, most notably as the winner of the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event and the 2008 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. This win also made him the first and currently only player to win both the WSOP Main Event and $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. events. He also stated that the only type of World Series of Poker event he has yet to win is 2-7 lowball. Nguyen is one of the most active players in professional poker today, and from 2000 to 2004 he finished in the money in more than 100 events.

Early life

Scotty Nguyen was born in Vietnam and came to America at the age of fourteen. He was expelled from school for spending too much time in underground poker games. Nguyen attended dealer school at the age of 21 and was employed at Harrah’s poker room. There he made about $150 a night and lost most of it playing $3–$6 stud. He described himself as a "fish" but wanted to gamble regardless.

His luck changed in 1985 when he was invited to Lake Tahoe to deal in a no-limit Hold’em tournament. He dealt all day and played cash games all night with the meager bankroll he brought with him. He built his bankroll to $7,000 and felt he was invincible. He returned to Las Vegas and gambled his bankroll up to $1,000,000. His name spread around Vegas and before he knew it he was playing poker with Johnny Chan, Puggy Pearson, and David Grey. He purchased a Chevrolet Camaro for $17,000, a Corvette for $21,000 and a condominium for $60,000 all in cash. He lived in Caesars Palace and was winning $50,000 to $100,000 a night.

Bad habits plagued Nguyen as recreational use of marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol developed into full-scale addictions. After a bad losing streak, he ended up going broke. Nguyen was spared a room and $5,000 in cash.

Poker career

Nguyen had to rebuild his bankroll after losing his million. His next success came at the 1997 World Series of Poker where he won the $2,000 Omaha 8 or Better, netting a profit of over $150,000. Unfortunately Nguyen blew this bankroll again and was completely broke shortly before the 1998 World Series of Poker. Nguyen had to play in a small satellite tournament which he did not even have enough money to buy into. Mike Matusow saw potential in Nguyen and decided to bankroll 1/3 of the buy in.

Nguyen is noted for playing with lots of emotion. He went on to win the 1998 World Series of Poker and split 1/3 of the winnings ($333,333) with Mike Matusow. On the final hand of the 1998 World Series of Poker's Main Event, a full house was dealt on the table (). Nguyen made the memorable quote to his opponent Kevin McBride: "You call, it's gonna be all over baby!" McBride called, saying "I call. I play the board." Nguyen beat McBride with a better full house by holding . Nguyen's Main Event triumph in 1998 was followed immediately by tragedy—the very next day, one of his brothers was hit by a car back home in Vietnam, and killed. For this reason, Scotty does not wear his 1998 WSOP championship bracelet.

After making several World Poker Tour final tables, Nguyen eventually won a WPT event in January 2006, defeating Michael Mizrachi heads-up in the fourth season Gold Strike World Poker Open when his made a flush against Mizrachi's on the very first hand of heads-up round. With this WPT victory, Scotty became one of only 5 people to win both the main event of the World Series of Poker and a World Poker Tour title. Nguyen earned a second place finish at the 2007 World Series of Poker in the seven card stud high low split eight or better event won by Eli Elezra. Scotty stated after the event that he hadn't played cash games in over two years because he enjoys a friendly environment which is difficult in serious cash games. Scotty also nearly made the final table of the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event, finishing in 11th place out of a field of 6,358 and earning $476,926.

At the 2008 $50,000 World Series of Poker H.O.R.S.E. event, Nguyen exhibited what many have considered objectionable, and even rule-breaking behavior. In the broadcast of the prestigious event, Nguyen was shown drinking numerous alcoholic beverages while swearing and scolding others (including waiters/waitresses) at the final table, drawing criticism from commentators. Following the event (which Nguyen won), Nguyen issued an apology to his fans and stated that the event's editing depicted him unfairly. He also cited issues like exhaustion, frustration with the perceived gloating of Michael DeMichele, and pressure to succeed as reasons for his unconventional behavior. Nguyen later formally apologized to the fans in an interview, and said that he no longer blamed any other players for his behavior, and that there was no excuse for his behavior at the 2008 H.O.R.S.E. event.

In 2009, Nguyen won the inaugural LA Poker Classic $10,000 H.O.R.S.E World Championship at the Commerce Casino's annual LA Poker Classic Series. This 1st place finish earned him $339,743, and further cemented Nguyen's reputation as one of the greatest masters of all variations of fixed limit poker.

As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $11,250,000. Of those winnings, $4,727,717 have come at the WSOP. Nguyen has also made appearances on the Ultimate Blackjack Tour playing Elimination Blackjack. Nguyen also made an appearance on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' in April 2004.

World Series of Poker bracelets

+Bracelets summary
!Year	!Tournament	!Prize (US$)
	$2,000 Omaha 8 or Better	$156,959
	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship	$1,000,000
	$2,500 Pot Limit Omaha	$178,480
2001	$5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight or Better	$287,580
	$50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship	$1,989,120

Notes

External links

World Poker Tour profile

Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:People from Henderson, Nevada Category:American people of Vietnamese descent Category:Vietnamese poker players Category:American poker players Category:World Poker Tour winners Category:World Series of Poker bracelet winners Category:World Series of Poker Main Event winners

bg:Скоти Нгуен de:Scotty Nguyen et:Scotty Nguyen fr:Scotty Nguyen it:Scotty Nguyen nl:Scotty Nguyen no:Scotty Nguyen pl:Scotty Nguyen pt:Scotty Nguyen ru:Нгуен, Скотти fi:Scotty Nguyen sv:Scotty Nguyen vi:Scotty Nguyễn

Doyle F. Brunson (born August 10, 1933) is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.

Brunson is the first player to earn $1 million in poker tournaments and has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets throughout his career, tied with Johnny Chan for second all-time, one behind Phil Hellmuth's eleven. He is also one of only four players to have won the Main Event at the World Series of Poker multiple times, which he did in 1976 and 1977. He is also one of only two players, along with Bill Boyd, to have won bracelets at the WSOP in four consecutive years. In addition, he is the first of five players to win both the WSOP Main Event and a World Poker Tour title. In January 2006, ''Bluff Magazine'' voted Brunson the #1 most influential force in the world of poker.

Early life

Brunson was born in Longworth, Fisher County, Texas, a town with a population of approximately 100, and was one of three children. Because of Longworth's small size, Brunson frequently ran long distances to other towns, and became a promising athlete. He was part of the All-State Texas basketball team, and practiced the one-mile run to keep in shape in the off-season. Although he was more interested in basketball than running, he entered the 1950 Texas Interscholastic Track Meet and won the one-mile event with a time of 4:43. Despite receiving offers from many colleges, he attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, because it was close to his home.

The Minneapolis Lakers were interested in Brunson, but a knee injury ended his playing days. He had taken a summer job and was unloading some sheetrock; when the ton of weight shifted, Brunson instinctively tried to stop it, but it landed on his leg, breaking it in two places. He was in a cast for two years, and the injury ended his hopes of becoming a professional basketball player. He still occasionally requires a crutch to get around because of the injury. Brunson changed his focus from athletics to education, obtaining a bachelor's degree in 1954 and a master's degree in administrative education the following year.

Brunson had begun playing poker before his injury, playing five-card draw and finding it "easy." He played more often after being injured and his winnings paid for his expenses. After graduating, he took a job as a business machines salesman but, on his first day, he was invited to play in a seven-card stud game and earned over a month's salary in under three hours. He soon left the company and became a professional poker player.

Poker career

Brunson started off by playing in illegal games on Exchange Street, Fort Worth, Texas with a friend named Dwayne Hamilton. Eventually, they began traveling around Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, playing in bigger games, and meeting fellow professionals Amarillo Slim and Sailor Roberts. The illegal games Brunson played in during this time were usually run by criminals who were often members of organized crime, so rules were not always enforced. Brunson has admitted to having a gun pulled on him several times and that he was robbed and beaten. Poker was not a socially accepted career path during this time and, given the reputation of those running the games he was playing in, he had little legal recourse.

Hamilton moved back to Fort Worth, while the others teamed up and travelled around together, gambling on poker, golf and, in Doyle's words, "just about everything." They pooled their money for gambling and after six years, they made their first serious trip to Las Vegas and lost all of it, a six-figure amount. They decided to stop playing as partners yet remain friends.

Brunson finally settled in Las Vegas. He has been a regular player at the World Series of Poker, since its creation in 1970, playing in the Main Event nearly every year since then in addition to many of the other preceding bracelet-awarding events. He made some WSOP championship event final tables before his back-to-back wins, but since this was when the event was winner-take-all, they are not counted as cashes. Besides his two championship wins in 1976 and 1977, Brunson's other main event cashes are: 1980 (runner-up to three-time champion Stu Ungar), 1982 (4th), 1983 (3rd), 1997 (16th), and 2004 (53rd).

Other than his poker success, his greatest achievement is probably his book, ''Super/System'', which is widely considered to be one of the most authoritative books on poker. Originally self-published in 1978, ''Super/System'' was the book that transformed poker by giving ordinary players insight into the way that professionals such as Brunson played and won, so much so that Brunson believes that it cost him a lot of money. An updated revision, ''Super/System 2'', was published in 2004. Besides Brunson, several top poker players contributed chapters to ''Super/System'' including Bobby Baldwin, Mike Caro, David Sklansky, Chip Reese and Joey Hawthorne. The book is subtitled "How I made one million dollars playing poker," by Doyle Brunson. Brunson is also the author of ''Poker Wisdom of a Champion'', originally published as ''According to Doyle'' by Lyle Stuart in 1984.

Brunson continues to play in the biggest poker games in the world, including a $4000/$8000 limit mixed poker game in "Bobby's Room" at the Bellagio. He also plays in many of the biggest poker tournaments around the world. He won his ninth gold bracelet in a mixed games event in 2003, and in 2004, he finished 53rd (in a field of 2,576) in the No Limit Texas hold 'em Championship event. He won the Legends of Poker World Poker Tour event in 2004 (garnering him a $1.1 million prize) and finished fourth in the WPT's first championship event. Early in the morning on July 1, 2005, less than a week after Chan had won his 10th gold bracelet - setting a new record - Brunson tied the record at the 2005 WSOP. He is currently one bracelet behind Phil Hellmuth, who earned his 11th bracelet at the WSOP on June 11, 2007.

Brunson's nickname, "Texas Dolly," came from a mistake by Jimmy Snyder. Snyder was supposed to announce Brunson as "Texas Doyle," but incorrectly pronounced the first name as Dolly. It stuck and many of Brunson's fellow top pros now simply refer to Brunson as "Dolly."

Brunson has the honor of having two Texas hold'em hands named after him. One hand, a ten and a two of any suit, bears his name because he won the No Limit Hold 'Em event at the World Series of Poker two years in a row with them (1976 and 1977), in both cases completing a full house. In both 1976 and 1977, he was an underdog in the final hand. Another hand known as a "Doyle Brunson," especially in Texas, is the ace and queen of any suit because, as he says on page 519 of ''Super/System'', he "never plays this hand." He changes his wording in ''Super/System 2'', however, noting that he "tries to never play this hand."

Brunson has played on these televised poker shows on many occasions, and with the popularity of poker rising thanks to poker on TV, he has also created some of the most famous quotes in poker history. As a result of the shows stated above, some have even become popular with the general public, and have also been used in introductions for certain shows. In the fifth season of ''Poker After Dark'', the intro clip is of Doyle Brunson reciting some of his more famous lines, such as; "That's poker folks" and "You don't stop playing because you get old, you get old because you stop playing". Other famous lines from Brunson include "It's always good to win the first one" (in reference to dealing out the poker board more than once) as well as shouting "Boom" across the table whilst the cards are being dealt when 2 players are all-in.

Brunson mentions in his book ''My Fifty Most Memorable Hands'' that he has seen three people die at the poker table. One man, shot in the head at point blank range in a domestic dispute, sat next to Brunson. Two others died of heart attacks, one seemingly from a mixture of drugs and alcohol; the other appears to have died from the shock of losing a massive pot to him.

As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $5,900,000. He has totaled $2,944,053 in earnings at the WSOP.

World Series of Poker bracelets

!Year	!Tournament	!Prize (US$)
	$5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw	$80,250
1976	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship	$230,000
	$1,000 Seven-Card Stud Split	$62,500
1977	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship	$340,000
	$5,000 Seven-Card Stud	$68,000
	$600 Mixed Doubles (with Starla Brodie)	$4,500
	$2,500 No Limit Hold'em	$208,000
		$93,000
	$2,000 H.O.R.S.E.	$84,080
	$5,000 No Limit Shorthanded Texas Hold'em (6 players per table)	$367,800

Family life

Brunson met his future wife, Louise, in 1960 and married her in August 1962. Louise became pregnant, but later that year, a tumor was discovered in Doyle's neck. When it was operated on, the surgeons found that the cancer had spread and declared it incurable. They felt that an operation would prolong his life long enough for him to see the birth of the baby, so they went ahead with it. After the operation, no trace of the cancer could be found. The doctors said that his recovery must have been a miracle, and Brunson has attributed his cure to the prayers of friends of his wife and their correspondence with Kathryn Kuhlman, a self-proclaimed Christian faith healer. Louise developed a tumor shortly afterwards and, when she went for surgery, her tumor was also found to have disappeared. In 1975, their daughter Doyla was diagnosed with scoliosis, yet her spine straightened completely within three months.

Doyla died at 18 when she took too much potassium for a heart-valve condition. Over the following year, Brunson read Christian literature and converted to Christianity.

His son, Todd, also plays poker professionally. Todd has won a bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo at the 2005 WSOP, making the Brunsons the first father-son combination to win World Series bracelets. His daughter Pamela played in the 2007 World Series of Poker and 2009 World Series of Poker main events, outlasting both Doyle and Todd both times.

SEC investigation

On December 14, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed an action to enforce subpoenas issued to the attorneys of Doyle Brunson regarding his unsolicited offer in July 2005 to buy WPT Enterprises, Inc., the publicly traded owner of the World Poker Tour, at a high premium over its then-market value. Shortly thereafter, the Commission contends, a public relations firm Brunson hired, and a website he endorses, publicly announced the offer. The Commission asserts that publication of this offer, widely covered in the media, triggered a steep rise in WPT's stock price on record trading volume.

When pressed for details, Brunson and his lawyers immediately stopped responding to the WPT and the media. Instead, after delivering the offer, Brunson withdrew from the engagement. When the WPT publicly disclosed Brunson and his law firm's unresponsiveness, its stock price sharply declined, costing investors tens of millions of dollars in lost market value. The offer eventually expired by its terms.

The SEC is formally investigating whether Brunson's offer and its publication violated federal securities laws, including the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. As part of its investigation, the SEC subpoenaed documents and testimony from Brunson's lawyers. However, Brunson, who has invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to testify in the investigation, directed his lawyers to withhold certain documents and not to testify on critical aspects of the offer, under the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine. The subpoena enforcement action seeks to set aside these privileges on various legal grounds, including the crime-fraud exception, and to compel Brunson's firm to provide the requested documents and testimony. The court has not yet set the Commission's action for hearing.

Bibliography

''Doyle Brunson's Super System: A Course in Power Poker'' (1979) ISBN 1580420818

''According to Doyle'' (1984) ISBN 0897460030

''Poker Wisdom of a Champion'' (2003) (formerly titled ''According to Doyle'' when published in 1984) ISBN 1580421199

''Doyle Brunson's Super System 2: A Course in Power Poker'' (2005) ISBN 1580421369

''Online Poker: Your Guide to Playing Online Poker Safely & Winning Money'' (2005) ISBN 1580421326

''My 50 Most Memorable Hands'' (2007) ISBN 1580422020

''The Godfather of Poker: The Doyle Brunson Story'' (2009) ISBN 1580422578

References

Notes

External links

Official site

Doyles Room

World Poker Tour profile

Poker Pages interview

ALL IN Magazine interview

Category:1933 births Category:American gambling writers Category:American gin players Category:American poker players Category:Basketball players from Texas Category:World Poker Tour winners Category:World Series of Poker bracelet winners Category:World Series of Poker Main Event winners Category:Super Bowl of Poker event winners Category:People from Fisher County, Texas Category:Living people Category:Hardin-Simmons University alumni

bg:Дойл Брансън da:Doyle Brunson de:Doyle Brunson et:Doyle Brunson es:Doyle Brunson fr:Doyle Brunson hr:Doyle Brunson it:Doyle Brunson he:דויל ברונסון nl:Doyle Brunson no:Doyle Brunson pl:Doyle Brunson pt:Doyle Brunson ru:Брансон, Дойл simple:Doyle Brunson fi:Doyle Brunson sv:Doyle Brunson zh:多伊尔·布朗森

Name	Todd Brunson
Nickname	Darkhorse
Hometown	Las Vegas, Nevada
Birth date	August 07, 1969
Wsop bracelet count	1
Wsop money finishes	28
Wsop main event best finish rank	13th
Wsop main event best finish year	1992
Wpt titles	''None''
Wpt final tables	''None''
Wpt money finishes	7
Ept titles	''None''
Ept final tables	''None''
Ept money finishes	1
Updated	2010-9-12 }}

Todd Alan Brunson (born August 7, 1969) is an American professional poker player and the son of poker legend Doyle Brunson.

Although Brunson's father Doyle is a poker player, Brunson did not learn the game when he was young. It was not until he was studying law at Texas Tech University that he learned on his own how to play. Before his senior year, he dropped out of school to go pro.

Most of his years as a poker player have been spent playing cash games. He's a familiar face along with his father at the Bellagio in some of their biggest cash games. In the past few years he's got into more tournament play.

Todd won a bracelet in Omaha High Low at the 2005 World Series of Poker, making the Brunsons the first father-son combination to each win bracelets at the World Series. Todd Brunson also contributed to his father's book, ''Super System 2'' (the 2005 sequel to Doyle Brunson's poker book Super/System), writing the Seven Card Stud High Low Eight or Better section.

His nickname "''Darkhorse''" comes from a tournament he played early in his career, where he was reckoned to be a huge underdog, but outlasted the likes of Chip Reese.

He competed in the Poker Superstars 2 Grand Final against Johnny Chan.

In 2006, he competed in the Poker Superstars 3 Grand Final against Antonio Esfandiari and defeated him by winning the first three matches in a best three out of five heads-up format. In the third round he was down to 170,000 chips against 3,830,000 chips owned by Esfandiari and eventually won by getting more than five double ups. Brunson took home the $400,000 first prize

In 2006, he competed in the Poker Superstars 2 quarter-finalists freeroll and took home the $500,000 first prize after defeating Ted Forrest in the final heads-up confrontation.

He is known for having won over $13.5 million in a two day span in a heads-up, $50,000-$100,000 limit hold-em game, as chronicled in 2005 book, ''The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King''.

Todd has also competed in the Ultimate Poker Challenge series. He has also appeared in the GSN series ''High Stakes Poker''.

In 2009, Todd made a guest appearance on one of the final episodes of the series ''Stargate Atlantis'' (#519 "Vegas"), during a poker game set in Las Vegas.

As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,300,000. His 28 cashes as the WSOP account for $767,836 of those winnings.

World Series of Poker bracelets

!Year	!Tournament	!Prize (US$)
	$2,500 Omaha High-Low Split	$255,945

References

External links

CardPlayer interview

PokerListings.com Player Profile

Category:1969 births Category:American poker players Category:Living people Category:World Series of Poker bracelet winners Category:Texas Tech University alumni

de:Todd Brunson nl:Todd Brunson no:Todd Brunson fi:Todd Brunson

Eliahu Ilan Elezra (; born November 24, 1960 in Jerusalem) is an Israeli professional poker player and a businessman, now living in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While he was in Israel, Elezra was a lieutenant in the Golani Brigade. He was bedridden by a leg injury; during this time he began playing poker. Before moving to Las Vegas, Elezra spent several years working in Alaska, prior to starting his career as a professional poker player.

Since moving to America, Elezra has made numerous money finishes in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Omaha, Texas Hold 'em and Draw events.

In July 2004, Elezra won the World Poker Tour (WPT) $10,000 no limit hold'em event at the 2004 Mirage Poker Showdown, where he won $1,024,574.

Elezra has played in "The Big Game" in Vegas for many years. He appeared in the second and third seasons of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament. He played in seasons 1-6 of GSN series High Stakes Poker.

According to an episode of the GSN show High Stakes Poker that aired in 2006, Elezra donated $50,000 to complete a gym for his former military unit.

Elezra won his first bracelet by winning the World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low in the 2007 World Series of Poker after defeating Scotty Nguyen heads-up. Before the event Elezra had made a side bet with Barry Greenstein laying 10:1 odds that he would win a World Series Bracelet in 2007. He had made the bet for $25,000 and collected $250,000 for his win, resulting in more money than the first place prize in the event that he won.

As of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,900,000. His 18 cashes as the WSOP account for $565,805 of those winnings.

He became a Full Tilt Pro after years of playing on the site and had his own H.O.R.S.E table.

In 2009, he appeared on several episodes of Poker After Dark along with Doyle Brunson and Gabe Kaplan.

World Series of Poker bracelets

!Year	!Tournament	!Prize (US$)
	$3,000 World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low	$198,984

Notes

External links

World Poker Tour Profile

CardPlayer Magazine article

Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:Israeli Jews Category:People from Jerusalem Category:Israeli poker players Category:Israeli emigrants to the United States Category:American poker players Category:World Poker Tour winners Category:World Series of Poker bracelet winners Category:American businesspeople Category:Israeli businesspeople Category:Jewish poker players

de:Eli Elezra he:אלי אלעזרא (שחקן פוקר) nl:Eli Elezra fi:Eli Elezra