David Benyamine
Encyclopedia
David Benyamine is a French
professional poker
player with a World Poker Tour
title. Benyamine was a professional tennis
player in his early career but had to retire
because of shoulder pain. He was also a successful top ten billiards
player in France. He learned poker at the age of 12 and plays high-stakes cash games on a regular basis. Benyamine was deported
from the United States
during 2004. His name was the same or similar to one on the terrorist "watch list", but the resolution was that he was deported for not having a work permit. Benyamine lives in Henderson, Nevada
.
(WPT) open events: the 2003 Grand Prix de Paris (second season
) - 1st place (€357,200); the 2004 L.A. Poker Classic (second season) - 6th place ($132,355); the 2008 Bellagio Cup IV (seventh season
) - 2nd place ($840,295) and the 2010 WPT Championship (eighth season
) - 4th place ($329,228)-He win the Premier League of Poker IV. He is also the winner of the WPT Battle of Champions II invitational event, where he defeated a final table including Hoyt Corkins
, Mel Judah
, Antonio Esfandiari
and Phil Laak
.
player, but due to comments from his friends, he started playing tournaments more regularly during the 2008 World Series of Poker
. He has made four WSOP final tables, three of which were in 2008, as well as his one bracelet.
under his own name at Full Tilt Poker
and is sponsored by them. Benyamine is a Pot-Limit Omaha
specialist. As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,500,000. His 10 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,206,561 of those winnings.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
professional poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player with a World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
title. Benyamine was a professional tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player in his early career but had to retire
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
because of shoulder pain. He was also a successful top ten billiards
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
player in France. He learned poker at the age of 12 and plays high-stakes cash games on a regular basis. Benyamine was deported
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during 2004. His name was the same or similar to one on the terrorist "watch list", but the resolution was that he was deported for not having a work permit. Benyamine lives in Henderson, Nevada
Henderson, Nevada
-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...
.
World Poker Tour
Benyamine has made four final tables in World Poker TourWorld Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
(WPT) open events: the 2003 Grand Prix de Paris (second season
World Poker Tour season 2 results
- Grand Prix de Paris:* Casino: Aviation Club de France, Paris * Buy-in: €10,000* 4-Day Event: July 10, 2003 to July 13, 2003* Number of Entries: 96* Total Prize Pool: €894,400 * Number of Payouts: 9...
) - 1st place (€357,200); the 2004 L.A. Poker Classic (second season) - 6th place ($132,355); the 2008 Bellagio Cup IV (seventh season
World Poker Tour season 7 results
- Spanish Championship:* Casino: Casino Barcelona, Barcelona * Buy-in: €5,000* 5-Day Event: Friday, May 23, 2008 to Tuesday, May 27, 2008* Number of Entries: 253* Total Prize Pool: €1,278,396...
) - 2nd place ($840,295) and the 2010 WPT Championship (eighth season
World Poker Tour season 8 results
- WPT Venice:* Casino: Casino Di Venezia, Venice, Italy* Buy-in: $5,302 + $530* 5-Day Event: May 6, 2009 to May 10, 2009* Number of Entries: 397* Total Prize Pool: $2,035,237* Number of Payouts: 45...
) - 4th place ($329,228)-He win the Premier League of Poker IV. He is also the winner of the WPT Battle of Champions II invitational event, where he defeated a final table including Hoyt Corkins
Hoyt Corkins
Hoyt Bricken Corkins is an American professional poker player.He also has three children in Chelsei Corkins, Brittney Corkins, and Ashley Roundtre...
, Mel Judah
Mel Judah
Mel Judah is an Australian professional poker player, also known as "The Silver Fox" . He learned poker at the age of 14 by watching his father play 5-card draw....
, Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari is a professional poker player, known for his elaborate chip tricks.-Early life:When he was 9 years old his family moved to San Jose, California...
and Phil Laak
Phil Laak
Philip "Phil" C. Laak is a professional poker player, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Laak holds a World Poker Tour title, a World Series of Poker bracelet and has appeared on numerous nationally-aired television shows.-Early life:...
.
World Series of Poker
Benyamine is primarily a cash gameCash game
Cash games, also sometimes referred to as ring games or live action games, are poker games played with "real" chips and money at stake, usually with no predetermined end time, with players able to enter and leave as they see fit...
player, but due to comments from his friends, he started playing tournaments more regularly during the 2008 World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
. He has made four WSOP final tables, three of which were in 2008, as well as his one bracelet.
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 2008 World Series of Poker The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker . Held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the series began on May 30, 2008, and featured 55 poker championships in several variants. All events but the $10,000 World Championship No Limit Texas hold... |
$10,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split | $535,687 |
Other poker activities
Benyamine plays high stakes online pokerOnline poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
under his own name at Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
and is sponsored by them. Benyamine is a Pot-Limit Omaha
Omaha hold 'em
Omaha hold 'em is a community card poker game similar to Texas hold 'em, where each player is dealt four cards and must make his best hand using exactly two of them, plus exactly three of the five community cards...
specialist. As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,500,000. His 10 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,206,561 of those winnings.