The Poker Ten: Best 'High Stakes' Living Episodes

In this new Card Player series, we rank things in the poker world in an attempt to stir up some debate. This week we take a look at the the top ten houses of poker pros that Card Player TV has taken us on over the years with it’s High Stakes Living segment. Poker has been a very lucrative endeavor for many of its best practitioners, and with all of that many its no surprise that poker’s brightest stars have some seriously impressive homes.

What makes a great home tour video? Obviously some of the most popular episodes have come from the flashiest, most expensive and lavish houses, but some of the more offbeat and interesting tours have also caught the eye of poker fans, even if the house in question was not very “’spensive.” Here are High Stakes Living’s greatest hits.

1. Barry Greenstein: One of poker’s biggest names also sports one of the game’s biggest homes. Located in beautiful Rancho Palas Verdes, CA, the Greenstein residence features a breathtaking entrance-way, an awesome indoor pool and some funny jokes from the “Robin Hood” of poker.

2. Eli Elezra: Like Greenstein, Elezra plays in the biggest poker games in the world and comes home to a massive mansion. Located in Las Vegas, Elezra’s gigantic 10,000 sq. ft residence features a huge fish tank and a wonderful office space inspired by Elezra’s dear friend and poker legend Chip Reese.

3. David Oppenheim: Oppenheim is one of most successful high stakes cash game players, and it shows in his beautiful Calabasas, CA home. Oppenheim has put together a wonderful family home, which is large, but with great details and an incredible pool-side view.

4. Haralabos Voulgaris: Voulgaris has made appearances on High Stakes Poker and other televised cash games, so it seemed fitting to feature his stunning Hollywood Hills home on High Stakes Living. Perhaps the most modern house to appear on the show, the elegant design and interesting features combined with the professional sports bettor’s dry wit to make for an instant classic. Check out his media room, complete with five flat-screen TV’s and a 120 inch high-definition projector screen.

5. Daniel Negreanu: Perhaps poker’s most recognizable face, Negreanu has proven himself to be a player and personality at the apex of the game. His Summerlin, NV home is as nice as one would expect, but perhaps most impressive are all of the special additions he’s made that make his home a golfer’s dream. He has a massive six-hole putting green with a bunker along side. He even practices lobbing it over a tree coming from his front yard. In order to get good enough to do this Negreanu gets a lot of practice on his $50,000 indoor swing analysis and course simulator.

6. Lee Watkinson: Watkinson moved to Las Vegas after making the 2007 World Series of Poker main event final table. The following summer Card Player stopped by to tour his home, and was met by a massive mansion, a panther on a leash, and a chimpanzee habitat. Needless to say, it was quite a tour.

7. Phil Hellmuth: The poker brat may be one of poker’s loudest stars, but his home in beautiful Palo Alto, CA is undeniably one of the most understated. But just because his home is not loud doesn’t mean that the 11-time WSOP champion didn’t have anything to say. This tour has some great funny moments, including Hellmuth’s inability to use his pool’s fancy remote control. Also, Hellmuth showed some great historical poker items he gathered over the years.

8. Hevad Khan: Khan is perhaps most famous for his wild antics on his way to the 2007 WSOP main event final table. But in the time since then, he has settled down in more ways than one – with a home in Las Vegas, and in his new, calmer demeanor. Khan’s home features a hot-tub with grotto, a personal chef and a cool entertainment center.

9. Men “The Master” Nguyen: The four-time Card Player Player of the Year winner showed off his unique Bell Gardens, CA home, complete with all sorts of interesting poker artifacts and even more interesting trinkets, like a huge king cobra in a bottle. Nguyen took some ribbing on poker forums for appearing to not know his daughter’s names in the video, but it is suspected that he merely had trouble remembering the English versions of their Vietnamese names.

10. Teddy “The Iceman” Monroe: While “The Iceman’s” house might not be as large as Eli Elezra’s, or as modern as Haralabos Voulgaris’ pad, this video tour gained notoriety for Monroe’s hilarious self-aggrandizing. As soon as the cameras where in the door, the promotion began. Oh what a coincidence, the WSOP main event episode featuring Monroe is on TV! Champagne and cigars next to the massage chair for online play? Why not. What about the full Iceman line: Iceman mug, Iceman hats and Iceman shirts. And perhaps most memorably is Monroe’s catch phrase, “This is very ’spensive.” Whether it be his collection of Louis Vuitton bags or his assortment of watches, the ‘spensiveness of all of the Iceman’s luxury wares was mad known.

Honorable Mentions:

Faraz Jaka, Andrew Lichtenberger and Tony Dunst, Gavin Smith, Ari Engel and David Chicotsky, Bill Chen and Gavin Griffin, Justin Smith, Eric Baldwin, Freddy Deeb, Jon Friedberg, Evelyn Ng, Ralph Perry, Kelly Kim, J.C. Alvarado, Matt Stout, Paul Wasicka, Tony Rivera and Mark Newhouse, Andrew Robl, Clonie Gowen, Chau Giang, Tony Rila, Brandon Cantu, Jay Kwik, Steve Zolotow, Jonathan Little, Jared Hamby, Antonio Esfandiari, John Cernuto, Michael Mizrachi, John D’Agostino, Mike Sexton, Doyle Brunson

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