David Levi (; born 2 December 1962, in

Tel Aviv, Israel Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

) is an Israeli professional

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

player and former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who in his poker career has won over $2.6 million in live tournaments. Levi, who was born and raised in Israel, was a

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

and then later played soccer professionally for

Hapoel Ramat Gan Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim F.C. (, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim'') is an Israeli football club from Ramat Gan and Givatayim. They currently play in Liga Leumit, the second tier of Israeli football. Home matches are played at Rama ...

. After his soccer career was cut short by a knee injury, he then moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he was introduced to poker and was once the roommate of professional poker player and friend

Amir Vahedi Amir Vahedi (25 February 1961 – 8 January 2010) was an Iranian professional poker player born in Tehran, Iran. who won a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet at the 2003 World Series of Poker in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event. World Seri ...

. A few years later he moved to

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, where he currently resides. As of 2020, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,000,000. His 37 cashes at the WSOP account for $553,434 of those winnings.

World Series of Poker

Levi has multiple cashes at the

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best ...

(WSOP), which includes two final tables, and has made the final table of the 2005 WSOP Tournament of Champions. His highest finish in the Main Event was 121st in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

World Poker Tour

Levi has finished in the money at 10

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the ...

(WPT) championship events, making the final table in season six at the 2007 Mandalay Bay Poker Championship where he finished 3rd earning $229,540. He also made a final table of the WPT offspring known as the

Professional Poker Tour The Professional Poker Tour (PPT) was a series of televised poker tournaments, spinning off from the World Poker Tour (WPT) television series. It billed itself as the first professional poker league, and was limited to players who have established ...

, where he finished 3rd at the Mirage Poker Showdown event in 2005.

Other poker events

Levi has over 20 first place victories in various event over his poker career. In April 2002, he won the '$3,100 No Limit Hold'em' event at the '' Bellagio High Buy-in Tournament Series'', after he had defeated WPT Champion

Alan Goehring Alan Goehring (born February 21, 1962) is an American retired junk bond analyst and trader from Henderson, Nevada. At the age of 37, he became a professional poker player. Goehring first made his mark on the poker circuit when he finished in 3r ...

during heads-up play, earning $159,468, winning the $1,500 Limit Hold'em event at the 2003 Bellagio Five-Diamond World Poker Classic, earning $144,917 and winning California State Poker Championship in 2000, earning $26,751, and then again in 2004, earning $99,745.

References

External links

Card Player profileHendon Mob profileWPT profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levi, David 1962 births Living people Israeli men's footballers Footballers from Tel Aviv Israeli poker players Men's association football players not categorized by position Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim F.C. players Israeli expatriate sportspeople in the United States 20th-century Israeli sportsmen