Steve Billirakis (born May 23, 1986 in Hampshire, Illinois) is an American 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. Billirakis won the first tournament of the

2007 World Series of Poker The 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) began on June 1, 2007. The $10,000 ( US) no-limit Texas hold 'em Main Event began on July 6 and was completed on the morning of July 18th. All events were held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las ...

winning the $5,000 World Championship Mixed Hold'em Limit/No-Limit

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

after beating Canadian poker player and former professional hockey player

Greg Mueller Greg Mueller (born June 2, 1971) is a German and Canadian professional poker player and former professional ice hockey defenceman. Mueller was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. He began playing professional ice hockey in 1992 and played his en ...

heads-up. Billirakis won $536,287 and became the then youngest

WSOP 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 ...

bracelet winner in history, having won the event only 11 days after his 21st birthday. The previous record holder was

Jeff Madsen Jeff Madsen (born June 7, 1985, in Santa Monica, California) is a four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and the 2006 World Series of Poker Player of the Year. Early life and education Madsen was raised in Pacific Palisades, Los Angele ...

, who had set the record only the year before. Billirakis' record was broken on September 10, 2007 when

Annette Obrestad Annette Obrestad (born 18 September 1988) is a Norwegian YouTuber, poker player, and ''Scrabble'' player. She is the youngest person to ever win a World Series of Poker bracelet, which she accomplished at the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe ( ...

won the main event of the

World Series of Poker Europe The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) is the first expansion effort of World Series of Poker-branded poker tournaments outside the United States. Since 1970, participants had to travel to Las Vegas if they wanted to compete in the World Series o ...

where the age limit was only 18 years. Prior to signing up for this mixed hold'em event, Billirakis had never played limit hold'em. His friends gave him a crash course in the days leading up to the event. On one key hand when they were heads up, Mueller had made top pair against Billirakis's trips. When Billirakis raised on the river, Mueller made a

feint Feint, a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing, is a maneuver designed to distract or mislead. A feint is achieved by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, ...

of putting chips into the pot to attempt to get a read on whether Billirakis wanted him to call. While not a formal breach of the rules,

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

commentator

Norman Chad Norman Chad (born 1958) is an American sportswriter and television poker commentator. Biography Chad grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, the son of Seymour and Cuban-born Perla Chad. Chad attended Northwood High School before graduating from t ...

opined that such plays "ain't kosher" according to poker etiquette. A short-stacked Mueller later called the big blind with . Billirakis raised Mueller all-in with . The board came down , giving Billirakis the winning hand with two pair queens and deuces. In November 2008, Billirakis won a WSOP Circuit Event - Horseshoe Hammond, $5,150 Championship, earning $208,885. He won his second bracelet in the 2011 WSOP Europe in a Pot Limit Omaha event. As of 2014, Billirakis's total live tournament winnings exceed $2,625,000. His 21 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,675,026 of those winnings.

World Series of Poker bracelets

An "E" following a year denotes bracelet(s) won at the World Series of Poker Europe

References

External links

Card Player profileHendon Mob profileWPT profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Billirakis, Steve American poker players American people of Greek descent World Series of Poker bracelet winners World Series of Poker Circuit event winners Living people 1986 births Game players from Chicago People from Hampshire, Illinois