Eliahu Ilan Elezra ( he, אלי אלעזרא; born November 24, 1960, in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

) is an Israeli professional

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player and businessman, now living in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. With five

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

bracelets and a WPT win in the post Moneymaker era, he is one of the most successful players since the

poker boom The poker boom was a period between 2003 and 2006, during which poker, primarily no-limit Texas hold 'em, but also other variations, became considerably more popular around the world. During the boom years, the online poker player pool at least dou ...

. Since moving to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

, Elezra has had more than 70 money finishes in the

in Omaha,

Texas Hold 'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt fa ...

and

Draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anythin ...

events. In July 2004, Elezra won the WPT Mirage Poker Showdown, where he collected $1,024,574 for his efforts. Elezra has played in " The Big Game" in Vegas for many years. He appeared in the second and third season of the

Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament The Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament was a series of no limit Texas hold 'em poker tournaments. The first season is available on NTSC DVD. It airs on Fox Sports Net in the United States, Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and Ftn in the United K ...

. Elezra came known to the big public when he played in seasons 1–6 of the legendary GSN series ''

High Stakes Poker ''High Stakes Poker'' is an American cash game poker television program. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. The first four seasons ran from January 16, 2006 to December 17, 2007 on GSN. The next three seasons ran ...

'' and has appeared on several episodes of ''

Poker After Dark ''Poker After Dark'' is an hour-long poker television program that originally aired on NBC, premiering on January 1, 2007.

''. He also was a Full Tilt Pro. Elezra won his first bracelet by winning the World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low in the WSOP of 2007 after defeating

Scotty Nguyen Thuận B. "Scotty" Nguyễn (born October 28, 1962) is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player who is a five-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, most notably as the winner of the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event and ...

heads-up. Before the event, Elezra had made a side bet with

Barry Greenstein Barry Greenstein (born December 30, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American professional poker player. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on the World Poker Tour. Greenstein donates his p ...

laying 10:1 odds that he would win a World Series bracelet in 2007. He bet $25,000 and collected $250,000, resulting in more money than the first place prize in the event that he won. As of 2022, his total live tournament winnings exceed $5,000,000. His cashes at the

account for over $3,000,000 of those winnings. Elezra released a biography about his life and career in poker in March 2017 entitled ''Poker Legend''. The book was co-written by professional Israeli poker players Matan Krakow and Yoav Ronal. The book was translated into English by Robbie Strazynski and published by

Two Plus Two Publishing Two Plus Two Publishing is a private company established and owned by statistician and poker player Mason Malmuth. The company publishes books on poker and gambling written by professionals in the field such as David Sklansky, Dan Harrington, B ...

under the title ''Pulling the Trigger'' in January 2019. Elezra was inducted into the

Poker Hall of Fame The Poker Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional poker in the United States. Founded in Las Vegas, it was created in 1979 by Benny Binion, the owner of the Horseshoe Casino, to preserve the names and legacies of the world's greatest p ...

in 2021.

World Series of Poker bracelets

Personal life

Eli Elezra served in one of the Israeli Defense Force's Golani Brigades. During his time in the army, he served time in an Israeli prison for disobeying military orders. He was discharged after he sustained a leg injury in the 1982 Lebanon War. Later, he moved to the USA where he first began to work in the fish industry in Alaska, before making his way to Las Vegas to become the owner of a successful film-developing business in 1988. It was thanks to this venture that he started to enter the poker scene.

Notes

External links

Eli Elezra Interview (video + transcript)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elezra, Eli 1960 births Living people 21st-century American businesspeople American poker players Israeli businesspeople Israeli emigrants to the United States Israeli Jews Israeli poker players People from Jerusalem World Poker Tour winners World Series of Poker bracelet winners Businesspeople from Las Vegas