Also known as Amarillo Slim. After beginning to play poker at the age of 25, Slim would go on to win the World Series of Poker in 1972. Twenty years later, he was elected into the Poker Hall of Fame. He has four World Series of Poker bracelets and came in second place at the 2001 World No Limit Heads Up Championship. In addition to his success at the poker table, Slim maybe best known for the crazy "proposition" bets he's won - including playing one-pocket pool with Minnesota Fats using a broom handle, golf with Evil Knievel using a carpenter's hammer, ping-pong with Bobby Riggs using an iron skillet, beating Larry Flynt at poker for $2,000,000, and beating Willie Nelson for $300,000 playing dominoes. He has also played poker with presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, and drug lords Pablo Escobar and Jimmy Chagra.

Ungar is still regarded by many poker insiders as the greatest pure talent ever to play the game; in his life, he is estimated to have won over $30 million at the poker table. Along with Johnny Moss, Ungar is the only three-time WSOP main event champion, winning it in 1980, 1981, and 1997. His win in 1997 is considered particularly remarkable as a comeback after 16 years of drug abuse. During his career, Ungar won 5 WSOP bracelets and more than $2 million in tournament play. He won ten major no limit Texas hold 'em events. Ungar was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2001. A movie about Ungar, High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story, was made in 2003. On November 22, 1998, seven months after the 1998 WSOP, Ungar was found dead in a Las Vegas motel room with $800 to his name. An autopsy showed traces of drugs in his system, but not enough to have directly caused his death. The medical examiner concluded that he had died of a heart condition brought on by his years of drug abuse. Sad.. but true.

 In 1949 Moss once played with Nick the Greek in a five month long poker marathon set up by Benny Binion, winning anywhere from $2 million to $4 million. Because of people like Nick the Greek, Binion and Moss, poker became popular and eventually a World Series of Poker was organized. Moss won the 1970, 1971, and 1974 World Series of Poker main events, tying him with Stu Ungar for the most WSOP main event titles. For the 1970 event, Moss was actually elected the champion by his peers and only received a silver cup as his prize. He played at every WSOP from 1970 to 1995 and during his career he won 8 WSOP bracelets and over $680,000 in tournament play.

Johnny Chan is a legend in the poker world for winning nine gold bracelets (tying Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth), but more impressively is that two bracelets were from back to back Championship events in 1987 and 1988. Amazingly he almost won in 1989 too, but finished second to Phil Hellmuth. He is not only known by poker players, but also by movie goers for playing himself as the best poker player in the world in the movie Rounders. In the movie Chan's won against Erik Seidel in the 1988 World Series. Chan, nicknamed "The Orient Express", flopped a straight and got Erik to move all in with a pair of queens.

Most people know Gus Hansen because of his success on the World Poker Tour. During the first season he made final tables at the Bellagio Casino and the Commerce Casino, and won both events. He also won the PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure and The Bad Boys of Poker WPT event in season two. He showed in these events what No Limit Holdem is all about. It's not about playing the cards; it's about playing the players. He puts pressure on players to decide if they want to risk a substantial amount to find out if he is bluffing. He has an aggressive style with cards that others might think are unplayable. 

T.J. is considered one of the best tournament players of all time. He has won more than fifty major events with buy-ins of $500 or more. For years, he has been the leading or in the top five of money winners at the World Series of Poker. Speaking of the World Series, T.J. has placed four times in the top five of the $10,000 Main Event including two second place finishes to Chris Ferguson in 2000 and Bill Smith in 1985. He has four bracelets for his wins in Omaha in 1987, Pot Limit Hold'em and Omaha 8 or Better in 1994, and Omaha Pot Limit in 1998. He has also placed on the World Poker Tour, at the Reno Hilton and the Bicycle Casino .

Annie Duke started off playing in local card rooms in Montana. She and her husband moved to Las Vegas in 1994 so she could pursue her desire to enter the professional circuit. In the 2000 World Series of Poker main event, one position short of the final table, Duke bagged 10th place, while eight months pregnant with her third child. In 2004 she won $2 million in the inaugural World Series of Poker (WSOP) Tournament of Champions - a 10-player, winner-take-all invitational event. As of 2005, Duke has won one World Series of Poker bracelet and more than $3.1 million in tournament earnings.

In the competitive world of professional poker, Scotty Nguyen is among the most aggressive and competitive players you will ever find. His brash, bold style illustrates a “winning is everything” mindset that puts him in the money more often than not. He is a cocky but masterful player with the skills to back up the brash attitude. With nearly $4 million dollars in career winnings, Scotty is fourth on the all-time money list. Scotty is now known as one of the best professional players in the game. His colorful personality and exuberant confidence make him fun to watch. 

Phil Ivey won his first WSOP title at the age of 23, where he beat Phil Helmuth and Amarillo Slim in Pot-Limit Omaha. He followed up by winning three WSOP titles in one year, 2003. He's also won two Bellagio tournaments, one WPO, and two Commerce tournaments, not to mention his three appearances at WPT final tables. His tournament statistics are impressive, but Phil is equally impressive in live money games - he regularly beats the biggest games in the world.

Erik has an impressive record in heads-up play, but may be most famous for a loss - his 2nd place finish in the '88 WSOP against Johnny Chan earned him an appearance in the movie "Rounders". Don't let that 2nd place finish fool you, that was his first major tournament. Since then, he's come out on top in all his heads-up battles against the likes of Chan, Helmuth, and Cloutier. One of the leading money winners in tournament poker, Erik is the only player on both the WSOP and the Bellagio top 10 all time money lists. 6 WSOP titles, 4 Bellagio titles and numerous other wins add up to over 5 million in tournament winnings. He was also the points leader in the Champion of the Year standings for 2002-2003.

Phil Hellmuth is one of the most successful tournament poker players of all time. His performance at the World Series of Poker alone is more than other players could ever dream of. He has a record nine gold bracelets (tying with Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan), has placed in over 35 events, and is one of the all time top money winners. One of his bracelets was for winning the Championship event in 1989 when he was only 24 years old, making him the youngest winner of the main event. Now having said all that, the thing that is such a shame is that as great as he is, most people know him as the whiner in poker. 

Barry Greenstien has been making a living at the poker table for many years, but he is just now getting the recognition he deserves. After winning the WPT at the World Poker Open, some people still ask who this guy is. For tournament pros and the players in the biggest side games in the world, he is a man who's game is widely respected. He has won two tournaments in less than a year with a first prize of more than $1 million dollars. To others, he's the most generous man in the poker industry. He's donated every bit of his tournament winnings to charity, most of which goes to Children, Inc which works to help children in twenty-one countries including the United States. 

Daniel Negreanu is one of the most familiar faces in poker and rightfully so. His success is enormous, his talent is unrivaled and his personality is unforgettable. In 2004, Daniel won Card Player Magazine's Tournament Player of the Year award and the World Series of Poker's Player of the Year award. His tournament winnings in 2004 were over $4,400,000. In live games he plays anywhere from the $1000-2000 to the $4000-8000 game and plans on playing in the bigger game on more regular basis in the future. He might have the talent and natural gift of playing poker, but he also works hard; harder than almost anybody in the game.

Hassan won a gold Championship WSOP bracelet in 2004.He 
is considered to be a fearless player that attacks the game. He begin playing professional poker in the late 1990's and after a couple of years he was regularly making final tables and eliminating better known opponents. He made the final table of the WSOP Championship event in 2000 and although he didn't win the event he went home with forth place money. Hassan believes a part of his success at the tables is his practiced ability to relax and play for the moment without worry about tomorrow. Whatever he does it has served him well.

Walter Clyde Pearson
"Puggy"

Walter Clyde "Puggy" Pearson (72) is a poker legend. He's a former World Champion and a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Puggy played in the first world championship at Binion's and was the second living person inducted into the Hall of Fame (behind Johnny Moss.) He is one of the most famous poker players of all time and is indeed a "Poker Great". Puggy (who acquired his nickname because of his pug nose) played in the highest stakes poker games in Las Vegas for over 25 years. He is one of the few players in history who said, "Deal me in" (for the highest game in the room) as soon as he walked into a poker room - and this was without knowing what the game was or who was playing.

James Butler Hickok
"Wild Bill"

In 1871, Hickok became marshal of Abilene, Kansas. He toured with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show in 1872-1873, where he was romantically linked to Calamity Jane. He was fired from the show due to drunkenness. At some point during 1876 he marries Agnes Thatcher and they move to Deadwood, South Dakota, where there was a gold rush going on and, likely, people ready to gamble their money away. On August 2, 1876, while playing poker at Nuttal and Mann's "Saloon No. 10" in Deadwood (then part of the Dakota Territory but on Indian land, Hickok was shot dead by Jack McCall. He had his back to the door and is shot in the back of the head. The motive for the killing is still debated. The saloon proprietor claimed that, at the time of his death, Hickok held a pair of aces and a pair of eights, with all cards black, and this has since been called the "dead man's hand."