Who is Phil Ivey

Phil won his first World Series of Poker title at the age of 23 when he beat Phil Hellmuth and Amarillo Slim in the Pot-Limit Omaha event. Two years later in 2002, he won three more WSOP titles. Phil also won two Bellagio tournaments, one World Poker Open tournament, two Commerce tournaments, and has made his share of World Poker Tour final tables.

Phil grew up in New Jersey, where he started his pro poker career in Atlantic City. 2005 was a good year, with two more WPT final tables, a second place finish in the WSOP Circuit Event at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, and the addition of his fifth WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament. Phil won $1 million for his first-place finish at the Monte Carlo Millions tournament. Amazingly, only 24 hours later, he won an additional $600,000 for his first-place finish at "The Invitational Live from Monte Carlo."

Tournament Money Winnings $10,034,351
For a man who doesn't play too many tournaments, Phil Ivey has certainly done well for himself. The high-stakes cash gamer and sports-betting enthusiast has five WSOP bracelets to his name and over the last two years at the series, has placed millions of dollars in side bets on winning his sixth. A consummate professional considered by many of his peers to be the world's greatest living poker player, Ivey has won titles in virtually every discipline of poker, from pot-limit Omaha and seven-card stud to no-limit hold'em. After making a record eight televised final tables on the World Poker Tour, Ivey finally notched a win in 2008, earning nearly $1.6 million for his first-place finish at the L.A. Poker Classic. If there was a way to track all-time cash game earnings, there is little doubt that Ivey would top that list handily.

* Considered the best poker player in the world
* 5 WSOP Bracelets before his 30th birthday
* 1 WPT Championship