Champion of Poker

Bill Edler started playing poker back in his law school days to get him through college. Edler attended the University of California-Berkley, but never actually took the bar exam. Edler stated that he never intended to be a lawyer, but still wanted the degree. After college, he moved to California where he became a prop player at the Casino San Pablo. From there he moved on to be a poker room manager and started to befriend many of today’s top pros as they were first getting started.

Edler started to make a bit of a name of himself in 2005 and 2006 when he was regularly finishing in the money of various events. He cashed 3 times on the WPT and won two titles at the Ultimate Poker Challenge. He also scored a World Series of Poker Circuit ring at the Tunica Circuit Event in January 2006. While these years were profitable, nothing would compare to the year that Bill Edler would have in 2007.

Edler would start the year off strong by finishing 13th at the WPT Borgata Poker open. He then went and won the $10,000 Heads-Up Championship held at Crystal Park Casino in Compton, CA for $215,000. This was Edler’s biggest payday at the time, but little did he know that his winnings would skyrocket that year.

Edler would make deep runs in back to back WPT events in February and March. He finished 7th in the L.A. Poker Classic, just one spot shy of the final table. He then made the final table of the Bay 101 Shooting Stars Event, finishing 6th. Edler took down nearly $350,000 for the two events combined.

Edler would then go on to have a fantastic World Series of Poker as well. He took down his first gold bracelet at the WSOP when he won the $5,000 6 Handed No Limit Holdem Event for $904,672. He would then make a deep run in the Main Event, finishing 23rd and taking $333,490.

Amazingly enough, Bill Edler still had one more major win to come in 2007. He made the final table of the WPT Gulf Coast Poker Championship in Biloxi, MS. At a final table that included “Captain” John Franklin, Edler emerged as the victor and took home $747,615. Edler would go on to cash three more times in events in 2007, including a 9th place finish in the Main Event of the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge. In total, Edler won $2,758,750 in 2007. This brought his lifetime earnings up to over $3.38 Million in live events. Bill Edler was also named the 2007 Player of the Year honors from Bluff Magazine.

After 2007, Bill Edler has virtually fallen off of the poker map. He has recorded zero cashes in live tournament play in 2008. Whether he is going through a bad run in tournament play or has stepped back from playing that many tournaments, the cause for this is unknown. With his track record and past tournament results, it is likely that we will see him at the top of the leader boards again soon.