Player bios will go here
Born November 4, 1979 in Cut Off, Louisiana, Trishelle Cannatella first gained recognition in 2003 by appearing in MTV’s The Real World: Las Vegas. Since then, she has been featured in Playboy, Maxim, Details, Elle Girl, Spin, and Stuff. She also been in over 30 TV shows and films, including Criminal Minds, The Dukes of… Read more »
Victoria Coren was born on August 18, 1973 into a middle-class Jewish family in North London. Her father was humorist and journalist Alan Coren and, at the age of 14, young Vicky followed in her father’s footsteps by winning a competition in the Daily Telegraph to write a column about teenage life, which she wrote… Read more »
Originally hailing from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Tom McEvoy learned poker from his grandmother at the age of 5, and regularly got in trouble for playing with his friends at school. He studied to be an accountant, but when he got laid off from his first job in 1978 he decided to turn his full attention… Read more »
Born on April 16, 1986 in Toronto, Canada, Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi learned to play poker in his teens by frequenting home games with his friends. After Chris Moneymaker’s victory at the World Series of Poker in 2003, Mizzi started playing online, where he became fast friends with online star Josh ‘JJProdigy’ Fields. Before long, Sorel… Read more »
Born in Alberta, Canada, Kara Scott relocated to the United Kingdom in 1999. Never shy in front of a camera, she used her background in Muay Thai martial arts training to secure a job on the show Now is the Time: Night of Combat. Her next media gig saw her hosting the first ever televised… Read more »
Originally born in Vietnam and currently living in Arcadia, California, Kenny Tran started playing poker at a bowling alley while working at McDonald’s. After becoming obsessed with the game, he honed his skills at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles and before long he was a feared player in even the highest stakes games. Presently,… Read more »
Hailing from Tacoma, Washington, Victory Poker pro Lee Markholt was an avid bull rider until he decided to call it quits at age 25. It was actually during recovery from a bull riding injury that Lee discovered a few of his father’s poker books and started reading them. After falling in love with poker, he… Read more »
Born on August 2, 1974 in Vietnam, Liz Lieu’s family moved to Colorado just a year later. By the time she was 13, Liz was playing Chinese Poker with friends and has always had an affinity for cards. When she turned 18 she started playing in local rooms and even opened her own home game.… Read more »
Born on April 9, 1979 in San Antonio, Lacey Jones’ parents divorced when she was seven, and when her father moved away to Las Vegas, she remained with her mother and sister in Texas. She got her start in poker during summer vacations at the family home in North Carolina, where they often played various… Read more »
Born in New York City, Isaac Haxton was raised in Syracuse where his father was an English professor. From a very young age, it was obvious that Isaac was an extremely bright child. He was playing chess by age 4, and soon took up playing card game Magic: The Gathering. He was introduced to poker… Read more »
Hailing from Glenwood, Alabama, Hoyt Corkins started playing poker at age 19 after learning from his father. Hoyt started his professional career in the late 1980s, but didn’t strike gold until the 1992 World Series of Poker, where he won the $5K Pot Limit Omaha event for $96K. Following the victory, he took an 11… Read more »
Born in Teaneck, New Jersey, David Sklansky attended the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, but dropped out after only a year. He then got a job as an actuary and quickly became extremely proficient in the field. Upon discovering a faster way to do the required calculations of his job, he… Read more »
Born in Rome, Italy, Dario Minieri got his competitive flair at a young age from trading card game Magic: The Gathering. He traveled the world playing tournaments until the day when the significantly more lucrative online poker prize pools caught his eye. Originally enrolled in University to study Psychology, Minieri dropped out to pursue poker… Read more »
Born in Sante Fe Springs, California in 1983, Daniel Alaei has kept a relatively low profile despite boasting an immensely successful career. Prior to 2004, Alaei was mainly a cash game player, often found playing $50-$100 both live and online, where he’s known as “steamraise.” Perhaps fueled by his $35K cash for 59th in his… Read more »
Know as “The-Toilet” online, Faraz Jaka is a rising poker superstar from San Jose, California. Getting his start online in his Freshman year of college, Jaka honed his game by playing a few nights a week while balancing his class workload. A PocketFives.com Triple Crown winner, Jaka had a remarkable online run in 2007 when… Read more »
Thomas Austin Preston, Jr., better known as Amarillo Slim, was born on December 31, 1928. His parents divorced when he was 16 and he moved to Amarillo, Texas to live with his father. At 17, Slim joined the Army and served overseas, where he hustled pool and booked sports events. Upon his return, Slim met… Read more »
Even though he’s most recognized for authoring a series of poker books that advocate tight and conservative play, Dan Harrington is known as ‘Action Dan’, a name that says more about the man than the poker player. Quiet and perhaps a tad media-shy, Harrington is not singularly interested in poker, and has always said he’s… Read more »
A rare combination of businessman, player, and fan, Barry Shulman was made for the poker industry. A tireless student of his craft, Shulman has also served as an ambassador to the game; under his watch, the industry giant Card Player Magazine ushered in the Golden Age of poker and continues to help it thrive. Barry… Read more »
Born March 25, 1978 in Akron, Ohio, Erica Schoenberg is a professional blackjack and poker player. Erica actually got into blackjack first and, after receiving professional training from a member of the MIT blackjack team (to which Andy Bloch belonged once), she went on to compete in the World Series of Blackjack. Having always possessed… Read more »
One of the most present and recognizable celebrity poker players, Shannon Elizabeth was born on September 7, 1973 in Houston, Texas. She has an interesting heritage, as her father is Lebanese/Syrian and her mother is of Irish, English, German and Cherokee descent. Shannon’s self proclaimed ‘second career’ takes her to Las Vegas a few times… Read more »
American poker player Beth Shak only discovered poker in 2002, but by 2004 she was playing professionally, and has been ever since. She initially learned the game by playing on Full Tilt Poker’s ‘Play Money’ tables, but quickly graduated to real money. When she entered the live poker arena, she found it to be difficult… Read more »
Born on August 5, 1975 in Victoriaville, Quebec, Isabelle Mercier’s foray into the poker world was fueled by nothing but hard work and determination. Initially, she studied law at the University of Montreal, but after having her license for only six months, she decided that a 9 to 5 job wasn’t for her. Isabelle’s only… Read more »
Born in Kent, United Kingdom in 1984, Liv Boeree studied astrophysics at The University of Manchester before eventually moving to London. There, she was introduced to poker after being selected to appear on a T.V. show called Ultimatepoker.com Showdown. Throughout the show she received coaching from poker pros Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke and, from… Read more »
Hailing from Barcelona, Spain, Leo Margets first picked up poker four years ago when her boyfriend introduced her to the game. She began developing her skills in local clubs and actually won the first live event she played – The University Championships – held in her hometown of Barcelona. Following the victory, 888.com approached her… Read more »
Known online as locoenlacabeza on Full Tilt Poker, locaencabeza on PokerStars, and supermodl on Absolute Poker, Lauren Kling is a star in the making. Her biggest online scores include second place in the UBOC 4 Championship in January ’10 for $163K and third in Full Tilt Poker’s $1K Monday for $44K. She also final tabled… Read more »
