David Benyamine Bio

Born on July 5, 1972, David Benyamine is a French native who first had hopes of becoming a professional tennis player. He was among the top players at a very young age, but because of arthritis, he was forced to quit. With his tennis dreams dashed, he looked for another unconventional profession since he knew that a regular 9-to-5 job was not for him.

Benyamine became one of the top 10 pool players in France. His competitive drive and thirst for taking on new challenges drove him to start playing poker. Benyamine started playing low-stakes pot-limit games and eventually built up a decent bankroll. It became big enough to compete at the legendary Aviation Club, where many of France's best players competed for big money. There he learned and improved his game a tremendous amount.

After a few ups and downs that come with being a true gambler at heart, Benyamine has solidified himself in the poker community by consistently beating the highest cash games around. He's had considerable success in major live tournaments as well. In 2003, Benyamine won a World Poker Tour title at the Grand Prix de Paris. Then, at the 2008 World Series of Poker, Benyamine went on a rampage. He made three final tables and won the $10,000 World Championship Omaha eight-or-better event. Soon after that, Benyamine made a run at his second World Poker Tour title when he made the televised final table at the Bellagio Cup IV. Unfortunately for him, he finished second, but he snagged more than $840,000.

Lucky in love and in cards, Benyamine is engaged to model turned poker player Erica Schoenberg.