Daniel Negreanu

Daniel Negreanu was born in Toronto, Canada in 1974. The son of Romanian immigrants dropped out of high school just a single credit short of graduation to pursue his goal of becoming a poker professional. By the age of 18 he was a regular in charity poker events and at traveling casinos in the Toronto area – though it would be several more years and one failed attempt to make it big in Vegas before success came his way.

Negreanu has a reputation for being friendly and positive both at the poker tables and away from them. His high-profile media image has won his many endorsements during his career including a time as the ‘poker ambassador’ for the Wynn Las Vegas and more recently as a member of Team Poker Stars. Negreanu’s poker tournament record is outstanding, as is his successful use of his name in poker-related business ventures.

Poker Breakthrough

His first breakthrough on the professional tournament circuit came in 1997. Winning 2 events at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods won Negreanu the accolade of ‘all round player of the year’, as well as over $130,000 in prize money. The very next year he went on to win the first of three World Series of Poker gold bracelets – in the $2,000 Pot-Limit Holdem event, making history by becoming the youngest ever player to win a World Series Event.

Negreanu’s other World Series bracelets came in the 2003 $2,000 SHOE (Mixed Game) event and the 2004 $1,000 Limit Holdem event. He also made 11th place in the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Holdem Main Event in 2001.

While his World Series of Poker record is certainly impressive, Negreanu’s showing on the World Poker Tour is even better. In 2004 Daniel Negreanu won both the Borgata Poker Open and the 5 Diamond Classic, cashing for over $1.1 Million and $1.7 Million respectively. These wins are complimented by several other final tables and ‘in the money’ finishes which makes Negreanu one of the leading money winners in the World Poker Tour’s history.

The 'Big Game'

Aside from his tournament successes Negreanu is a regular player in the ‘Big Game’ at the Bellagio. Here the best professional poker players in the world regularly meet to play mixed poker games with blinds of $4000 / $8000 – the games are mixed to prevent any ‘specialist’ from having an edge and to make this game a true test of all-round poker skill.

Outside of poker Daniel Negeanu is a prolific writer. In addition to regular articles for Card Player Magazine and a syndicated newspaper column, he has contributed a chapter for the revised edition of Doyle Brunson’s Super System and produced a book of his own: ‘Daniel Negreanu’s Holdem Wisdom For All Players’. In addition to this he has endorsed a poker video game and contributed training videos to online poker training sites.

Negreanu married in 2005 and currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife Lori Lyn Weber. He is a vegan and often has his mother prepare food for him while on the tournament circuit.

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