Category Archives: Poker Champions

Chau Giang

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Chau Giang is the definition of a survivor. Born in Vietnam around 1955, Giang fled Vietnam in the late 70’s via a small boat and arrived in Florida. Here he started working minimum wage jobs to survive. Afterward, he moved to Colorado where he $160 per week as a chef. While working as a chef he began to learn the game of poker. After honing his abilities he decided to move to Las Vegas to become a professional gambler. After he moved to Vegas, he made over $100,000 in the first year he was there. From that point Giang never looked back.

Giang has primarily focused on cash games over the years. As a result, he really didn’t start playing tournaments until the early 90’s and then very sparingly. The only tournaments that he frequented were at the World Series of Poker. Giang won his first WSOP bracelet in 1993 when he took down the $1,500 Ace to Five Draw event. He also finished runner-up in the $1,500 Pot Limit Holdem event that year.

Giang’s tournament play over the next few years centered almost entirely around the WSOP. When he did play, he did achieve a lot of success. He cashed six times in 1995 and made two final tables. In 1996 he finished 13th in the Main Event. In 97 he finished 3rd in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Event. In 1998, Giang won his second bracelet when he took down the $2,000 Omaha 8 or Better event.

From 1999 to 2004, his only tournament cashes were at the WSOP which included 4 final table appearances. In 2004, Giang started to play a few more major events due to his family wondering why he was never on TV. This led to his third bracelet win in 2004 when he won the $2,000 Pot Limit Omaha event. Giang would continue to make strong showings at the WSOP including eight cashes in the 2008 WSOP. He just missed the final table by a couple spots in 3 of those events and made his 2nd cash ever in the Main Event.

Giang has also had a lot of success on the World Poker Tour. He has cashed in 13 WPT events and has made two final tables. He finished 2nd at the World Poker Open in 2005 and he finished 5th at the L.A. Poker Classic in 2007.

In total, Giang has made over $3.29 Million in live tournaments. This amount could have been a lot higher but Giang prefers to play high stakes cash games. For years he has been a highly respected high stakes player and regular participant in the “Big Game” in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.

Chau Giang escaped from Vietnam to make a better life for himself in America. Through hard work, he has made a name for him in the poker world and is among the most respect high stakes players in the game. Whether at the poker felt or in major poker tournament, Chau Gian is a force to be reckoned with at the poker table.

David “DevilFish” Ulliott

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Have you seen the movie about the ex-con that got out of prison, went into business, and then became a successful poker player? Probably not, because the movie hasn’t been made yet, but if it was, it would be based on the real life story of David “DevilFish” Ulliott.

David Ulliott dropped out of high school at 16 and started playing cards in local casinos. He was also part of a group of men that went and robbed safes at various businesses. Eventually Police caught one of the men committing the robberies. Ulliott was named as an accomplice and he went to prison for nine months. After getting out, he was later arrested for armed robbery and public fighting and went to prison for another 18 months.

After getting out of prison, Ulliott straightened his life out and opened a pawn shop that later was converted into a jewelry business. During his time as a businessman, Ulliott was playing poker, but eventually the games dried up and he was outright banned from card rooms because nobody wanted to play with him.

Eventually Ulliott went on to play in professional poker tournaments, where he had success at both the World Series of Poker and on the World Poker Tour. Ulliott won his first bracelet in 1997 when he won the $2,000 Pot Limit Holdem event and $180,310. He nearly won the $3,000 Pot Limit Holdem event a year later but finished 2nd. He would also have two runner-up finishes in the 2001 WSOP, just missing out on the $2,000 Pot Limit Holdem Bracelet and the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha bracelet.

Ulliotts biggest win on the World Poker Tour came at the 2003 World Poker Open in Tunica, MS. He was able to take down the event for his first WPT title and $589,175. His next biggest win was actually his largest score in a poker tournament to date. He finished 3rd at the World Poker Classic in 2007 for $674,500.

In addition to his WSOP and WPT success, Ulliott has many other large wins in poker tournaments around the world. He has won over $5.28 Million in live tournaments. This puts him 34th all-time in career earnings. His win in the first series of Late Night Poker prompted the network to continue to air the show, mainly in part to Ulliott’s prescience. At one point, Ulliott was sponsored by UltimateBet.com and has recently started up his own site DevilFishPoker.com. He was banned from all Fox Sport Net poker events after flashing an advertisement of his site in his jacket after being forbidden to do so by the network.

Ulliott still owns his jewelry business back in Hull England. He has recently tried to change his image. He used to come to the table with his hair slicked back and wearing sunglasses. He decided to change when he noticed a lot of people were looking like him. He still wears his signature Devil Fish brass knuckles at the table.

David Ulliott has made quite a name for himself in the poker world. He came up from criminal roots to become a businessman and a fearsome poker player. If you sit at a table and the “Devil Fish” decide to sit down with you, you may want to find yourself a new game.

Chris Reslock

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One of the nicest professionals that you will meet at the poker table is Chris Reslock. Reslock is a professional poker player in the Atlantic City, NJ area that used to be a cab driver. Once poker became legal in AC, he started playing poker and became proficient in most games but favored $10-$20 Holdem. He made so much money playing poker that he decided to park the cab and to stick with poker.

For the first few years of Reslock’s pro career, most of his wins centered around the Atlantic City area. He won a stud event at the 2001 United States Poker Championship, two events at the 2003 Tropicana Poker Championship Series, and one at Showdown at the Sands in 2003. He also made numerous final table appearances and money finishes.

His biggest poker score to date and his first significant tournament win came at the World Series of Poker Circuit in 2005. He took down the Main Event of the Atlantic City WSOP-C stop to win his first gold championship ring and $335,235. Ten days later he would finish runner up at the Trump Classic Main Event and take down $126,000. Reslock would win his 2nd WSOP Circuit ring in 2006 when he won a preliminary event at the Harrah’s Atlantic City circuit event.

Relock at present has only seven cashes at the World Series of Poker for his career, but two of them are some of the biggest accomplishments on his poker resume. First, Reslock won his first, and so far only, WSOP bracelet when he won the 2007 Seven Card Stud World Championship. The final table of this pro heavy field included Phil Ivey, David Oppenheim, Ted Lawson, and Marco Traniello. Reslock made it heads-up with Ivey and defeated Ivey in short order to win his first WSOP bracelet. Later, Reslock would make the money of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship, finishing 15th out of 148 of the best players on the planet.

Reslock has several other poker titles in the AC area. He took two titles at the 2006 Trump Classic and then came back in 2007 to take another title at the Trump Classic and make 2 other final tables. He also made two final tables at the 2007 United States Poker Championship.

2008 has also been a good year for Reslock as he started off the year winning his 3rd WSOP Circuit ring at the circuit stop in Tunica, MS. He then won two titles at the 2008 United States Poker Championships and made two final tables at the World Poker Finals. In total, Chris Reslock has earned over $1.45 Million in live tournaments. Not bad for a former taxi driver.

Chris Reslock brings a solid style of poker to the table in any poker game he plays and has enjoyed in just about every form of poker played inside of a casino. This former taxi drive will come to the table and charm you with his friendly personality. Afterward, he will “taxi” your chips right into his stack.

Hoyt Corkins

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Hoyt Corkins is probably one of the most soft spoken poker players that you will ever meet. He comes to the table wearing his signature cowboy boot and hat. Upon talking to him and finding out about his ranch in Alabama, you would likely peg him as a fun loving cowboy at the table to have a good time. You will soon find out that he is a fearsome poker player after all your chips are in his stack.

Corkins learned how to play poker at the age of 19 from his father. He started playing professional poker tournaments in the late 80 and had some mild success, including a win in Pot Limit Omaha at the 1990 Super Bowl of Poker and a 1990 WSOP Main Event win. However, his first major poker title did not come to him until 1992.

Corkins won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 1992 in Pot Limit Omaha. His win earned him $96,000 and his first major title. He would then finish in 10th in the Pot Limit Holdem event later in the series. After his win, Corkins would leave the poker scene for 11 years. He went through a divorce and decided to stay away from the game. It wasn’t until his new fiancé prompted him to return to poker that he decided to give poker another go.

Corkins came back to poker in 2003 and in short order took down his 2nd major title, this time with the World Poker Tour. Corkins won the World Poker Finals to take home his first WPT title and the $1.089 Million prize. Two months later in early 2004, Corkins would finish in 2nd at the PokerStars.com Caribbean Adventure for another $290,065.

Corkins was now a force in the poker world and continued to make many strong finishes in poker. He finished 3rd in the Main Event of the United States Poker Championship in 2004 and then followed up with a 2nd place finish at the 2005 WSOP Tournament of Champions. He then made his third WPT final table in 2006, finishing 3rd at the Legends of Poker.

Corkins would win his 2nd WSOP gold bracelet in 2007 when he took down the $2,500 Six Handed No Limit Holdem event. A few months later Corkins would come just short of his 2nd WPT title, finishing 2nd at the World Poker Open in Tunica MS. The 2008 WSOP was also strong for Corkins. He finished in the money five times, including a 4th place finish in the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event and money finish in the Main Event.

Hoyt Corkins has earned over $4 Million in live tournaments for his career. Outside of poker, Corkins tends sixty head of cattle at his ranch in Alabama. His fearsome play at the table has earned him the nickname of “nightmare.” Phil Hellmuth says that he is a “great bluffer who constantly puts people to the test.” With the support of his family, Corkins has come back to the poker world after an 11 year absence to dominate it. At just 40 years of age, Corkins will be bringing his soft spoken nature to the tables for many years to come, and walking away with most, if not all, of his opponent’s chips.

Mel Judah – “The Silver Fox”

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Mel Judah was born in Calcutta, India in 1947. He first learned how to play poker at the age of 14 by watching his father play five card draw. Later, Judah would become a hairdresser for Vidal Sassoon. He later left being a hairdresser to pursue professional poker.

Judah has many strong finishes at the WSOP and a couple of historic ones as well. Judah won his first WSOP bracelet in 1989 when he took the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Event. He would nearly capture his 2nd in 1990 when he finished runner-up in the $1,500 Limit Holdem Event. He would record his first WSOP Main Event cash that year, finishing 17th in the Main Event. Judah would have another runner-up finish in 1991 in the $1,500 Omaha 8 or Better event. Judah would also record Main Event cashes in 1992 and in 1995.

1997 was Judah’s best year in the WSOP. First he made the final table of the $1,500 Stud 8 Event where he finished 8th. Next, he won his 2nd gold bracelet by taking down the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Event.

For those of you that watch poker on TV, you probably remember Judah most from his final table appearance at the Main Event in 1997. This final table was famous for two reasons. First, it was the first, and thankfully only, final table to be played outdoors. Next, it featured Stu Ungar, who hadn’t come close to winning the Main Event since his 2nd title 16 years earlier. Judah was an unfortunate victim to history as the day was meant for Ungar. Judah finished in 3rd place and Ungar went on to claim his third WSOP Main Event title. It would sadly prove to be Ungar’s last title as Ungar died in 1998 after complications due to drug use.

After his 1997 finish, Judah has headlined several final tables at the WSOP and finish in the money in numerous events. He finished in the money in the 2000 Main Event and had another runner-up finish in the $5,000 Stud Event in 2003.

Judah also has had success on the World Poker Tour. To date, Judah has had only two cashes on the WPT, but he has made both of them count. Both cashes occurred within months of each other in 2003. First, Judah won the WPT Event at Legends of Poker after outlasting a final table that included T.J. Cloutier, Phil Laak, and Chip Jett. Later, Judah would go on to make the final table of the World Poker Classic where he would finish in 6th place. Judah has won $783,059 on the World Poker Tour to date.

For his career, Mel Judah has made over $3 Million in live tournaments. His conservative yet stellar play has earned him the nickname of “The Silver Fox.” Lately, Judah does not play as large of a schedule as in years past, but is always in the field for several major events and the World Series of Poker. Judah has also helped to create the World Poker Championship in Dublin, Ireland and helps run the event as its Tournament Director. Judah is well respect for his accomplishments at the poker table and with good reason. He has won Millions in his career and played with the greatest players of all-time. In the case of Mel Judah, his respect is well earned.

Robert Williamson III – Mr. Omaha

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Robert Williamson III was born in 1970 in Dallas, TX and grew up in the town of Granbury. He graduated from high school in 1989 and was named by his class as “Most Ambitious.” Then Williamson moved on to college at Angelo Sate University in San Angelo, TX. There he received two Bachelor Degrees in Business Administration, one for Finance and one for Real Estate. He then proceeded to work in the business world for several years before playing poker professionally.

Technically Williamson started cashing in tournaments in 1994 and finished 3rd in the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha Event at the 1999 World Series of Poker. His first win came in 1999 at the Mid America Poker Classic in Tunica, MS. The win was for Pot Limit Omaha.

In fact, many of Williamson’s big finishes have come in one form of Omaha or another. As a result, he was nicknamed “Mr. Omaha.” Williamson’s only World Series of Poker bracelet came in the 2002 $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event. Over the years, Williamson has had nine money finishes in Omaha events at the WSOP. In addition to his bracelet he finished runner up in the 2004 $2,000 PLO event and in the 2005 $5,000 PLO event. He also has two 3rd place finishes in Omaha events at the WSOP. Williamson’s only significant non-Omaha finish came in the 2006 WSOP when he finished 10th in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. It should be noted that Omaha 8 or Better is one of components of H.O.R.S.E.

Outside of the WSOP, Williamson does have many strong finishes in tournaments around the world. He has two WPT cashes to his credit holds titles in No Limit Holdem and Triple Draw Lowball. He still has ambitions to win more WSOP bracelets and would event like to win some WPT events. For his career, Williamson has over $1.95 Million in tournament earnings.

David Chiu

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David Chiu was born in China and arrived in the United States in 1978 to attend college at Oregon State University. He graduated with a degree in Computer Science. After graduation, he moved to Denver, CO and opened a Chinese restaurant. By 1996, Chiu decided to sell his restaurant and to begin playing poker professionally. He then moved out to Los Angles in 1997 to hone his skills.

Chiu has won four bracelets at the World Series of Poker. His first came the year he turned pro in 1996 when he won the $2,000 Limit Holdem Event and $396,000 in prize money. He then won the $3,000 Limit Holdem bracelet in 1998. His third bracelet was in Seven Card Stud when he won the $5,000 Stud Event at the 2000 WSOP. His fourth bracelet came in 2005 when he won the $5,000 Omaha 8 or Better event. Chiu has also cashed three times in the WSOP Main Event with his best finish being a 10th place finish in the 1996 Main Event.

Chiu has also had a lot of success on the World Poker Tour. He has cashed 9 times in total for over $3.6 Million in tournament winnings. He finished 3rd in the WPT Invitational at the L.A. Poker Classic in 2003. Chiu then won the 2008 WPT World Championship at the World Poker Classic for over $3.38 Million, which is his largest tournament cash to date. He went into heads-up play that day with a 5 to 1 chip deficit against Gus Hansen. He battled his way back for his first WPT title.

Outside of the WPT and WSOP, Chiu has several strong finishes in California, including titles at the 1997 and 1998 L.A. Poker Classic. Chiu also won $2,500 No Limit Holdem Event at the 1996 United States Poker Championship. For his career, Chiu has won over $5.96 Million in live tournament play. He ranks 27th on the all-time money list and 8th on the WPT all-time money list.

A lot of David Chiu’s ability at the poker table came as the result of an injury suffered as a child. When he was a boy, he lost about 35% of his hearing when water damaged his eardrums while swimming. As a result, Chiu decided to start focusing more on players and their actions. This turned into a useful skill at the poker table. For a while Chiu worked as a poker dealer and would notice how people would react when they held certain hands, including how they held their cards etc. Chiu is famous for his ability to read people and attributed the skills that he has learned along with his concentration as the keys to being able to read people so well.

When many people would have viewed a hearing problem as a disadvantage, David Chiu has went and used it to hone other skill in order to make himself a poker champion. He has won titles on the biggest stages in poker and at just 48 years of age, will likely continue to do so for a long time.

Thor Hansen

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Thor Hansen was born in Oslo, Norway where his family owned a grocery store. He learned to play poker at the age of eight. His father would let him sit in for him and when he would return, he would discover that Thor won money. Thor continued to play poker after he dropped out of school at 13 to go to work. He soon discovered that more money could be made at playing pool and poker than by working and as a result he took to being a professional pool player. After a while he switched to professional poker and has never looked back.

Thor would win his first major title in 1988 when he took down the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Event at the World Series of Poker. This would be the first of two bracelets for Hansen. He won the 2002 $1,500 Deuce to Seven Lowball bracelet and $62,600 in prize money. Hansen also cashed four times in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, with his most Main Event cash occurring at the 2008 WSOP. In addition, Hansen has made numerous final tables, including the final table of the 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event where he finished 8th.

He won the Main Event of the Grand Prix of Poker in 1998. In 99 he won the $500 Limit Holdem event at the Carnivale of Poker and the $500 Seven Card Stud event at Legends of Poker. He also has titles at the 2004 L.A. Poker Classic and 2004 World Poker Open. He also has four money finishes in the World Poker Tour and one EPT money finish. For his career, Thor Hansen has won $2.55 Million in live tournaments.

To many Norwegian players, Thor Hansen is considered their “Godfather of Poker.” Hansen has long since moved to the United States, but is still the all-time Norwegian money win. Thor’s name may remind you of the Norse God and his play at the table may leave you thinking you’ve been hit by Thor’s Hammer.

O’Neil Longson

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O’Neil Longson is a professional poker player based out of Las Vegas that is considered to be one of the best Pot Limit Omaha players on the planet. He has been making a killing at both the cash games and in tournaments for many years. His game is not just limited to Omaha as his long tournament history goes to show.

Longson holds three World Series of Poker gold bracelets. He took his first in 1994 when he won the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event. It then took him 9 nears to win his next bracelet, which he achieved in 2003. He won the $5,000 NL Deuce to Seven Lowball bracelet and $147,680. His third and final bracelet came in 2005 when he took the $1,500 Razz event. In addition to his three WSOP bracelet, Longson has also cashed twice in the WSOP Main Event.

Outside of the World Series of Poker, Longson has taken several other top titles as well. He won the Main Event of the 1995 L.A. Poker Classic and then followed it up later that year with a win at the Four Queens Classic in Pot Limit Omaha. He also took the 1996 Stud Championship event at the United States Poker Championship. He would win $200,000 for that title. In addition to these wins, Longson finished runner up in the 1997 Hall of Fame Poker Classic Main Event and in the 1998 United States Poker Championship Main Event. For his career, Longson has won over $2.1 Million in live tournaments.

Longson does not play as many tournaments nowadays because he has developed a hearing problem. He still plays a lot of cash games and terrorizes the players with his wild play. Even being hard of hearing, Longson is still a threat in a tournament. He just won a Pot Limit Omaha event in October 2008 at the Caesars Poker Classic.

O’Neil Longson has had a long and successful career. While it remains to be seen how long he will still play in tournaments, his success still speaks volume for his ability. His prowess at Pot Limit Omaha is the stuff of legend and stories about O’Neil Longson will probably continue long after he decides to step away from the game.

Lyle Berman

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Whether you know Lyle Berman as a professional poker player or as a businessman, you know that he is a big name in the world of poker. Berman attended the University of Minnesota where he received his degree in business administration. He worked with Berman Buckskin for several years, until the company was sold to W.R. Grace. He then stayed on as president and CEO and helped to grow the company until it was sold to the Melville Corporation.

In 1990, Berman was a co-found of Grand Casino, Inc. Some of the companies Indian Casino holding were spun off into a new company called Lakes Entertainment Inc, and Berman was named CEO. Later on both the World Poker Tour and PokerTek grew from Lakes Entertainment and Berman now serves as Chairman of the Board for both companies.

Berman is also an accomplished poker player. He has three World Series of Poker bracelets. Berman took his first bracelet in 1989 when he won the $1,500 Limit Omaha event. Next he took the $2,500 No Limit Holdem event at the 1992 World Series of Poker. His last bracelet was at the 1994 WSOP where he won the $5,000 NL 2-7 Lowball Event.

Berman has also has several strong finishes including a 4th place finish in the Main Event of the 1985 Super Bowl of Poker. He also has four runner-up finishes in events at the World Series of Poker, including runner up finishes in the 1997 and 2000 $5,000 2-7 Lowball events. Berman also won the Main Event of the 1991 Hall of Fame Poker Classic where he outlasted Paul “Eskimo” Clark for the $240,000 top prize.

Berman also has three money finishes in the World Poker Tour. Twice he has finished in the money in the $25,000 WPT Championship. He also made a final table at the 2005 World Poker Finals where he finished 5th.

At 67, Berman is still going strong. He made two final tables at the WSOP in 2008 after not making a final table in nearly 8 years. He finished 5th in both the Heads-Up No Limit Holdem World Championship and in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. For his career, Berman has over $2.46 Million in live tournament earnings. His earnings is more than some professionals will make in their careers playing full time. The fact that Berman splits his poker with his business interests makes it that much more impressive.

Whether it is business of poker, Lyle Berman has been successful with whatever he has touched. He helped grow several companies and even formed the most successful poker tour in history outside of the World Series of Poker. Every WPT Champion should owe a debt of gratitude to Berman for his insight and leadership. Lyle Berman is both a champion of poker and a champion of the business world.