Poker Stories

Eli Elezra has put together quite the list of poker accomplishments. The former businessman was one of the stars of the poker boom, enduring seven-figure swings by playing in some the biggest cash games in the world. He has also had quite a bit of success in live tournaments with more than $3.6 million in earnings. The 58-year-old won his World Poker Tour title back in 2004 at the Mirage Poker Showdown for $1,024,574. He also has three World Series of Poker bracelets, having taken down a 2007 stud eight-or-better event, a 2013 triple draw event, and a 2015 stud event. But poker was the furthest thing from Elezra's mind growing up in Jerusalem, and later serving in the Israel Defense Force during the Lebanon War. After being wounded in battle, Elezra moved to Alaska, where he worked in a salmon cannery, as a taxi driver, and even hunted bears and whales. He later moved to Las Vegas when he spotted a business opportunity to run a photo processing store on the Strip. It's these stories of high-stakes poker and t