 |
| Gary Benson | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | OzGary |
| Residence | Sydney, Australia |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 1 |
| Final table(s) | 6 |
| Money finish(es) | 25 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | 283rd, 2007 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Final table(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 1 |
Gary Benson (born 1957, in Sydney, Australia) is a professional poker player and sports bettor. He has won a World Series of Poker bracelet in addition to other titles as a poker player.
Benson started playing poker during his school years, but his interest in card games was fostered at a young age by his grandmother. He attended his first live poker game in the late 1970s and has been a stalwart on the Australian and New Zealand poker scene ever since.
Benson obtained a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology, Sydney in 1983, and was admitted as a Chartered Accountant in 1985. From 1989 until his retirement in 1995, Benson worked as a partner at the chartered accountant firm Grant Thornton.
Benson has been married twice with three daughters, and his hobbies include chess, genealogy and travel.
Benson attended the first Australian Poker Championship held in Adelaide in 1987, and has since attended nearly every major poker event in Australia and New Zealand. Benson enjoys Pot Limit Omaha and Limit Seven-card stud tournaments, predominantly plays Omaha Hi/Lo online, and can often be found playing the biggest cash games at any casino he attends, usually High Limit Omaha. In addition to many tournament victories, Benson's major achievements include being crowned the Australian Poker Champion in Adelaide in 1997, and the Australian National Champion in Canberra in 2000.
Benson made his first trip to Las Vegas in 1990 and entered his first World Series of Poker in 1996, where he won the $1,500 Seven-card stud event [1] to become the first Australian-born winner of a gold bracelet. On 24 April 1996, after a 15-hour battle, Benson managed to outlast the field of 247 players to take home the $148,200 prize. Benson reached the final table fourth in chips and finished heads-up with Las Vegas poker professional Billy Cohen. On the last hand, Cohen was forced all-in after Benson had won a huge pot on the previous hand. The two-hour heads-up battle was finally over when Benson's pair of Kings beat Cohen's pair of sevens. Benson also had three money finishes at the 2006 WSOP. [2] [3] [4]
As of 2014, Benson's total live tournament winnings exceed $2,000,000 including his 2nd-place finish in World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas in 2013 for $672,685. [5] As of 2024, his live tournament winnings exceed $2,500,000. [6]
In January 2009, Benson was honoured to become one of the inaugural inductees into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame. [7]
Benson started playing chess at the age of 13 and joined the Correspondence Chess League of Australia (CCLA) in 1970. Benson is a former Australian Champion having won the Australian Correspondence Chess Championship in 2003. Benson was awarded the International Master (IM) title for Correspondence Chess in 2004, and the Senior International Master (SIM) title for Correspondence Chess in 2005.
Thomas K. McEvoy is a professional poker player, author and member of the Poker Hall of Fame, 2013 inductee. He is best known for winning the 1983 World Series of Poker Main Event.
Lee Watkinson is an American professional poker player, originally from Longbranch, Washington.
Allen Cunningham is an American professional poker player who has won five World Series of Poker bracelets.
Rob Hollink is a professional poker player based in Groningen. He has won both a European Poker Tour (EPT) title and World Series of Poker bracelet, becoming the first person from the Netherlands to do so, first was at the EPT's inaugural Grand Final of the European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo in 2005 and then he won his first bracelet at the 2008 World Series of Poker in the $10,000 Limit Hold'em World Championship, becoming the first Dutch bracelet winner.
Ivo Donev is a Bulgarian, with Austrian passport, who is a professional chess and poker player.
John Anthony Cernuto also known as Miami, is an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada, specialising in Omaha hi-lo events. Cernuto has won over $6,200,000 in live tournament winnings, his largest score was for $259,150 from his $2,000 No Limit Hold'em bracelet victory in the 1997 World Series of Poker.
Massimiliano Pescatori is an Italian professional poker player.
Jeffrey Lisandro is an Italo-Australian professional poker player, now residing in Salerno, Italy.
Barny M. Boatman is an English professional poker player and the oldest member of the poker-playing foursome known as The Hendon Mob. He is the older brother of Ross Boatman, and resides in Archway.
O'Neil Longson is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada, who has won three bracelets at the World Series of Poker.
Brent R. Carter is an American professional poker player from Oak Park, Illinois who has won two World Series of Poker bracelets. He lives in Oak Park, IL.
Jan Vang Sørensen is a retired Danish football player, turned professional poker player from Odense. He has won two bracelets at the World Series of Poker.
Jeff Madsen is a four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and the 2006 World Series of Poker Player of the Year.
David Singer is an American professional poker player and former attorney.
Brandon M. Cantu is an American professional poker player. Upon winning a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2006, Cantu relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada. On March 14, 2007, Cantu became one of only 27 players to ever win both a World Series of Poker bracelet (2006) and a World Poker Tour championship (2008).
Ralph "Rep" Porter is an American professional poker player who won the 2008 World Series of Poker $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event, the 2011 World Series of Poker $2,500 Seven Card Razz event, and the 2016 World Series of Poker $1,500 Seven Card Razz event.
Daniel Heimiller is an American professional poker player who won the Limit Hold'em & Seven-Card Stud event at the 2002 World Series of Poker and the Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship in 2014. He has at least one WSOP cash for 25 consecutive years (1997-2021). He is ranked 5th in all time number of live tournament cashes and 12th in all time number of WSOP cashes.
Eric Buchman is an American professional poker player from Valley Stream, New York, who finished in fourth place at the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event. The following year, at the 2010 World Series of Poker, Buchman won his first bracelet in the $2,000 Limit Hold'em event, earning $203,607.
Jason DeWitt is a professional poker player from Mishawaka, Indiana, who won the 2010 World Series of Poker $5,000 No Limit Hold'em event. and the 2016 World Series of Poker $1,500 Millionaire Maker.
George Danzer is an entrepreneur and former German professional poker player, based in Salzburg, Austria who is a four-time World Series of Poker bracelets winner, winning the inaugural $10,000 Seven Card Razz Championship and then the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud High-Low Championship at the 2014 World Series of Poker. He won his third bracelet winning the $5,000 Mixed Event 8-Game event at the 2014 World Series of Poker Asia Pacific. His total live tournament winnings exceed $1.9 million