Tournament wise, Benyamine started to make a name for himself in France, making many final tables and taking down a couple of smaller events. His best finish before 2003 was a 2nd place finish at the European Championship where he finished 2nd.

In 2003 Benyamine won his first major title when he won the Grand Prix de Paris on the World Poker Tour. He took down $410,886 for this win and put himself on the tournament world map. Benyamine would continue to have success on the WPT as he has finished in the money in eight WPT events which included three final tables and his win in 2003. He made the final table of the 2004 L.A. Poker Classic where he finished 6th. He also made the final table of the 2008 Bellagio Cup where he finished 2nd tot take home $840,295. Benyamine also won the Battle of Champions II in 2005. To date, Benyamine has won over $1.45 Million on the World Poker Tour.

Until 2008, Benyamine had not experience much success at the World Series of Poker. His best finish had been a 6th place finish in an event in 2007. 2008 changes things as Benyamine made 2 final tables at the WSOP and just missed two more by just a couple of spots. He finished 3rd in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Event and then went on to win his first WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Omaha 8 or Better World Championship. At a final table that included Tony Ma, Mike Matusow, Ram Vaswani, and Toto Leonidas, Benyamine navigated his way through the table and kicked things into overdrive with three players left. He won his first bracelet and the $535,687 top prize.

Outside of tournament poker, Benyamine is one of the most feared high stakes cash game player in both live and online play. He is a regular on shows such as High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark and regularly plays on Full Tilt Poker under his own name. Benyamine specializes in Pot Limit Omaha and has won more money playing Omaha cash games on Full Tilt in 2008 than anyone in the world.

To date, Benyamine has won over $3.3 Million in live tournaments. Of course, to put that in perspective, Benyamine is up almost 2 Million in online cash games alone for 2008 alone. Whether it is tournaments or cash games, David Benyamine is a force at the poker tables. At only 36, this high stakes pro will be tearing it up a the tables for decades to come.

Phan would start playing tournament poker in the early 1990’s while running his business. Through the 90’s he made numerous final table finishes in the L.A. area. He also took down a title at the 1998 National Championship of Poker. In 2000 he began to start winning more tournaments including wins at Winning ‘O’ The Green, America’s Poker Classic, and the Orleans Open. It was 2001 that would see Pham start to win on a bigger stage.

David Pham came into the 2001 World Series of Poker after finishing runner-up in tournaments at the L.A Poker Classic and World Poker Open. He was looking for his first major win for his career. It didn’t take long as he would take down the $2,000 S.H.O.E. Event to win his first gold bracelet and $140,455. Pham would also finish in the money at the Main Event that year.

Pham would not experience significant success at the WSOP again until 2006. That year he won his 2nd bracelet in the $2,000 No Limit Holdem Shootout Event to take home $240,222 in prize money. He would also finish in the money in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. Pham would also make a final table in 2007 in the $3,000 Limit Holdem Event, but would fall short of his third bracelet when he finished in 4th place.

Pham has also had great success on the World Poker Tour. Pham has cashed 11 times in the WPT with 6 final tables. He finished 3rd at the 2004 Doyle Brunson North America Poker Championship and the 2007 World Poker Challenge. His best overall finish was a 2nd place finish at the 2007 Legends of Poker. In total, Pham has won over $1.854 on the World Poker Tour.

Pham had his wife close down their business due to the fact that he could support his family from his poker winnings. Since then he has went on to become one of the most fearsome No Limit Holdem players in the world. To date, Pham has won over $7.49 Million in live tournaments. This makes him 15th on the all-time money list.

David Pham escaped communism to come to America for a better life. He risked it all to achieve the American dream. He first achieved that dream via hard work in the business world and then moved on to achieve great success in the poker world. At only 41, Pham will continue to live his dream at the poker tables for years to come.

Most of Clark’s large wins in poker have come at the World Series of Poker. Clark has three WSOP bracelets to his credit. His first came in 1992 in a $5,000 Seven Card Stud event where he won $122,000. Several years later he took the $1,500 Razz event during the 1999 World Series of Poker. His third and final bracelet came during the 2002 World Series of Poker when he won the $1,500 Stud 8 or Better event and $125,200. Clark has also cashed in the 1997 and 1998 WSOP Main Event.

Clark also has four cashes on the World Poker Tour. He finished 10th at the Jack Binion World Poker Open in 2004 and then made his only WPT final table at the World Poker Challenge the same year. He took 3rd in that event for $310,403. Remarkably, this is the largest cash in Clark’s career.

If you look back over Clark’s career, you will notice numerous final tables and tournament wins in smaller tournament venues all over the United States. His largest score outside of the WSOP and WPT has been at the World Poker Classic at 2003 when he won the $1,500 No Limit event for $160,095.

The 2007 WSOP was a scary one for anyone that knows Clark. During the $2,000 Stud 8 or Better event, Clark collapsed at the table, suffering from an apparent stroke. For most people, this would end their WSOP. Clark came back a couple of days later and continued on. He made the final table of the $1,500 Razz event and again collapsed at the table, again from an apparent mini-stroke. Clark refused to leave the event and Harrah’s was forced to have him sign an agreement releasing them from any responsibility. Clark would finish in 4th place in the event. Many people wondered if Clark’s days were short. Clark would then come back over the next few months and make final tables in four different events, including the Main Event of the Binion’s Poker Open, where he finished in 2nd place.

Although Clark has been able to win over $2.6 Million in his poker career, he is notoriously known for being broke. Part of it is due to the fact that he seems to have poor money management skills. Others claim that he loses a lot of the money he wins in Pot Limit Omaha.

Whatever the reason is for the loss, he can be found many times peddling for buy-ins to events. However, Clark still is able to find his way into a lot of event. It is likely due to the fact that he does have a solid track record in poker, even if he is unable to hold onto his money afterwards. Hopefully someone will come along to teach him how to properly manage his money. It would be a shame to see such a successful poker player wind up broke at the end of his life as so many other players have before him.

The Caribbean Adventure was the first tournament that Gale would play in. He was one among a field of 461 players trying to make their way to the final table to win the $890,600 top prize. Amazingly, this newbie to tournament poker made the final table with the likes of “Miami” John Cernuto and Nenad Medic. Gale then did what was deemed nearly impossible, winning a WPT title in his very first trip to a live tournament.

After his win, Gale decided that his life as a business consultant was a tad boring and decided to play poker professionally. He would then go on to have a very strong finish at the 2005 World Series of Poker. He finished in the money four times in the series and nearly won his first bracelet in the $5,000 Pot Limit Holdem event. Unfortunately he suffered a bad beat late in the tournament and was never able to recover. He wound up 2nd in the event and made $204,440.

Although he did not win a bracelet, Gale had won over $1.1 Million in tournament poker in 6 months and he has never looked back since.Gale would go on to make a serious of money finishes over the remainder of 2005 which included an WPT cash and a runner-up finish in an event at the World Poker Classic for $252,325.

Gale would have a strong 2006 as well. First he finished 3rd in the World Pro-Am challenge for $200,000. Next, he took down his first gold bracelet in the $2,500 Pot Limit Holdem Event at the 2006 World Series of Poker. This win netted him $374,849 and gave him his 2nd major title. Gale would also go on to cash in the Main Even of the WSOP that year.

Since 2006, Gale has had several really strong finishes. He finished 3rd in the 2006 WPT Borgata Poker Open, taking home over $440,000. He then took down a pair of preliminary events in 2008, one at the Bellagio Cup for $205,500 and one at the Borgata Poker Open for over $55,000. He also finished 11th in the WPT Main Event at the Bellagio Cup in 2008. In total for his career, Gale has over $3.18 Million in live tournament earnings.

John Gale started later in life than most in tournament poker, but he had proven that he still belongs in a game that is normally dominated by men half his age. In addition to his skills as a player, Gale is highly respected for the way he conducts himself at the table. He is a pleasure to play with and makes you feel like you are playing poker with a friend. In all, John Gale is a true gentleman of the game.

Most of Arieh’s professional success has come at the World Series of Poker. He has two WSOP bracelets to his credit. The first came in 1999 when he won the $3,000 Limit Holdem event outlasting Humberto Brenes heads up to take home the title. This would net Arieh $202,800 and get him started on his career. A year later, he nearly won his 2nd WSOP bracelet but fell just short in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event. Of course, the winner was no slouch as Johnny Chan was the player that took down the event.

Arieh is known best for his run in the 2004 World Series of Poker. He was portrayed as the villain of the event, constantly running his mouth about other players play and doing whatever he could to get into their heads. Some of this comments were over the top, including the famous “Bust this Motherfu**er” comment that he told David Williams after Arieh was eliminated in 3rd place. Greg Raymer would go on to win the event but Arieh’s reputation was made. Arieh would later admit that it was not his intent to be the villain of the event, but his style is such as to where he will do whatever he can get away with to take his opponent’s chips.

Arieh would come back and do what neither of his final two tablemates from the 2004 WSOP has been able to do, win a 2nd WSOP bracelet. Arieh took down the $2,000 Pot Limit Omaha bracelet after a heads-up match with Chris Ferguson where Arieh was considered the underdog. The win solidified his place in the poker world and put him soundly on the map as a player.

Outside of his WSOP victories, Arieh has a couple other victories to his credit. He won the Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker Tournament in 2006 for $500,000. He also took the $1,000 Pot Limit Omaha event at the Wynn Classic in 2008. Arieh also has five cashes on the World Poker Tour with one final table at the 2004 Borgata Poker Open. He finished 3rd in the event.

Outside of the poker table Arieh enjoys to play golf and spend time with his wife and three children. He told Phil Gordon on his radio show that he is not as good as a poker player as he is given credit to being, but he has excellent money management skills that allow him to be as successful as he has been. At one point he was sponsored with Bodog but was released and moved on to play with Full Tilt Poker.

Whether you love or hate Josh Arieh, you must respect his ability at the poker table. His two bracelets and over $4.6 Million in earning have him among the elite in poker. At just 34, Arieh will be brining his style of poker to the tables for a long time. Expect to continue to see great things from this champion of poker.

Franklin cashed in his first major tournament when he finished 24th in the Main Event of the 1990 World Series of Poker. This would start a long string of cashes and strong finishes at the WSOP. Franklin won his only bracelet in 1999 when he took down the $2,500 Limit Omaha bracelet. Franklin would also make the final table of the WSOP Main Event in both 1995 and 2000 where he would finish 7th and 8th respectively. He just came short of his 2nd bracelet in 2001 when he finished runner-up in the $2,500 Seven Card Stud event.

Franklin has also had some mild success on the World Poker Tour. He has six cashes on the WPT, including one final table. That final table was at the Gulf Coast Poker Championship in 2007. He finished 6th at the final table to take home $116,814. In total, Franklin has won $297,507 on the World Poker Tour.

Outside of the WSOP and WPT, Franklin has many strong finishes at the poker tables. He finished 3rd at the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge Main Event in 2005. He later that year took the $5,000 No Limit Holdem Event at the World Poker Classic in Las Vegas. That win netted him $434,025. For his poker career, Franklin has over $2.48 Million in lifetime earnings.

Brenes began his gambling career playing baccarat and eventually graduated to poker. He started to play in poker tournaments regularly in 1988 and over the years has made a name for himself for both his style of play and his flamboyant demeanor at the table. He always seems to know where the cameras are at all times and takes advantage of any airtime he can get.

Humberto has two World Series of Poker bracelets to his credit and they both were won in 1993. First he took the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha bracelet for $128,000 and then later he would take the $2,500 Limit Holdem bracelet for $149,000. Over the years, Brenes has made numerous final tables at the WSOP and has event cashed 5 times in the WSOP Main Event. His best finish in the Main Event was 36th place finish in 2006. Through the years, Brenes has had 52 cashes at the World Series of Poker.

Brenes also has seven cashes on the World Poker Tour, including three final tables. All of his WPT final tables happened in 2004. He finished 2nd at the WPT Invitational in Los Angeles. Afterwards, he finished 3rd at the World Poker Finals for $636,930. Finally he finished 2nd at the World Poker Classic. He won $923,475 for that finish, which was his biggest score in poker to this date.

In addition to his WSOP and WPT success, Brenes has won several other tournaments including events at the Diamond Jim Brady, the Hall of Fame Poker Classic, the Costa Rica Classic, and the Central America Championships of Costa Rica. Brenes would also take down the 2002 Jack Binion World Poker Open. He outlasted Erik Seidel to take down the title and $502,460. For his career, Brenes has won over $5.37 Million. This ranks him 32nd all time in career earnings. He is also the top money winner on the Costa Rica Money list. He also ranks 7th in total cashes at the World Series of Poker.

Whether it is his flamboyant nature, his signature shark card protector, or the fact that he is always in the running in major events, Humberto Brenes is always a factor in tournament poker. He has taken his work ethic in the business world and turned himself into a champion poker player. Costa Rican players consider him the “Godfather of Costa Rican Poker” and for good reason. He can talk the talk, walk the walk, and entertain millions while taking your chips. Players around the world need to watch out because, “The Shark is Coming!”

Thomas Keller attended college at Stanford University. It was during a Christmas break from college that he was introduced to poker. He and his buddies would play several small stake games and when the game was over, Keller was up as much as $100. He decided that he would spend a little more time playing poker.

Keller began playing $3-$6 poker both in live casinos and online. After getting his degree in Economics, he picked up and headed out to Arizona and began making the climb through the limits. At one point, he owned every $100 chip in the casino he played at. Player had to go to him to purchase chips for their games.

Keller began playing tournament poker in 2003. His first decent score was at the CA State Poker Championships. He placed 3rd for $36,395. He then won an event at the Bellagio Five Diamond for his first six figure payday in poker at $281,525. He then proceeded to enter the 2004 World Series of Poker and ended up winning his first major title when he won the $5,000 No Limit Holdem Event. He won the gold championship bracelet and $382,020.

After his win at the 2004 World Series of Poker, Keller pretty much dropped off the map in professional poker. He had a few cashes, including two WPT cashes in 2004, but other than a final table finish at the 2005 World Poker Classic, Keller zero cashes until the 2008 World Series of Poker. At the WSOP he cashed in both the $2,000 No Limit Holdem Event and finished 61st in the Main Event.

Keller has also dropped a lot of weight since his 2004 bracelet win. He had gastric bypass surgery to assist him in his weight loss. He stated that stamina in tournaments is one reason that he chose to have the surgery. Nowadays, Keller claims that most of the time he plays tournaments for exposure. It was also rumored that Keller went through a bad run and lost most of his bankroll and has only recently built it back to the point where he can play regular tournaments again.

Thomas Keller exploded onto the poker scene in 2003 and 2004 and has since cooled off. If the bankroll rumors about Keller are true, and the recent results at the WSOP are any indication, expect to see great things again from “Thunder” Keller soon.

Although having one WSOP final table under his belt, Krux did not really become recognized in the tournament world until 1990 when he made the final table of the Main Event. Berry Johnston, John Bonetti, Hans Lund, and Mansour Matlouib were all at the table. Technically, Stu Ungar made the final table, but an overdose of drugs forced him to be blinded out of the tournament. Ungar was the chip leader by such a wide margin that he still made the final table, but was out in 9th. Krux would end up finishing 6th at this final table and took home $58,450 for his finish.

Krux would again make the final table of the 1994 World Series of Poker Main Event. The final table boasted names of Russ Hamilton, Vince Burgio, and Robert “Chip Burner” Turner. Krux would finish 5th in this main event for his first 6 figure payday at $100,800. Krux would go deep in the 1995 Main Event as well but would finish in 30th place; two spots shy of the money.

1996 would be the year Al would win his first and only major poker title. He took down the $1,500 Pot Limit Holdem Event at the World Series of Poker. He took the championship gold bracelet and $156,375 in prize money.

Krux’s biggest payday and most memorable finish in the modern poker era came at the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event. Krux made the final table that included Dan Harrington, Josh Arieh, David Williams, and Greg Raymer. Krux made a miracle outdraw with pocket 10’s against pocket aces to stay alive in the event. He mixed solid play with a little luck to finish in 6th place and to take home $800,000, which was his biggest score to date.

Since his score in the 2004 Main Event, Krux has had numerous strong finishes including a win at in a preliminary event at the Empire State Holdem Championships in 2005 and two WPT cashes. He mixes solid play with his ability to read opponents to keep him ahead of the curve. To date, Krux has won over $1.37 Million in live tournament earnings. Krux has stated that he prefers to play No Limit cash games, and the higher the limits the better. He prefers to play at the Turning Stone Casino near his home in New York.

Al Krux has mixed a solid style of poker with excellent reading skills to make a living at poker. He also claims that the help of poker coaches has allowed him to stay in the game a lot longer than other players. Krux thinks that the popularity of poker will continue to grow as the players continue to get younger and younger. One word of advice for these young players would be to watch out for Al Krux. He may look old, but this old man will take your money away from you faster than you can say “all-in.”

Awada would return to tournament poker in 2004 and would immediately have success at the World Series of Poker. He first finished in 2nd in the $1,500 No Limit Event after suffering a bad beat at the hands of Scott Fischman that left him crippled in chips. Then a couple of weeks later, Awada was able to win his first WSOP bracelet after outlasting a final table that included Nick Fragos, Marcel Luske, Dewey Tomko, John Juanda, and Jeffrey Lisandro.

A couple of months after his first bracelet win, Awada would have his only WPT final table to date when he finished 5th at the Legends of Poker event. A month later he would take down the $2,500 NL Event at the Fiesta al Lago.

After 2007, Awada would have many strong tournament finishes and final table appearances, including a 5th place finish in the $5,000 Stud Event at the 2005 WSOP. While he is still a regular player on the circuit, he splits his time between his business, his poker playing, and his family. Of the three, he says that his family is most important. For his career, Joe Awada has just over $1 Million in live tournament earnings.

Joe Awada’s story is a story of a man that has taken on many challenges and succeeded at all of them. Poker and business are secondary in Awada’s life. While this may not put him near any all time great lists, he will be considered an all time great by his family and in the end that may be the only list that matters.