Daniel Christopher Alaei (born 1982) is a professional
poker
Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
player from
Santa Fe Springs, California
Santa Fe Springs (''Santa Fe'', Spanish for "Holy Faith") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. The population was 16,223 at the 2010 census, down from 17,4 ...
. He is of
Assyrian
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyrian ...
descent.
Primarily a $50–100
no-limit Texas hold 'em
Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five Community card poker, communit ...
cash game player, Alaei won his first
World Series of Poker bracelet
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP. Even if the victory occurred before 1 ...
in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
in a no-limit 2-7 draw
Lowball event. He was featured on the first three seasons of ''
High Stakes Poker
''High Stakes Poker'' is an American cash game poker television program. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. The first four seasons ran from January 16, 2006 to December 17, 2007 on GSN. The next three seasons ran fr ...
''.
In 2007, Alaei cashed in the
2007 World Series of Poker Main Event, coming in a career-best 25th place out of a field of 6,358 players and winning $333,490. Alaei has two other Main Event cashes (59th in 2004 and 140th in 2005).
On December 19, 2009, he outlasted a field of 329 players to take down the
WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Classic, winning $1,428,430 in the process. He beat a final table that included poker professionals
Scotty Nguyen
Thuận B. "Scotty" Nguyễn (born October 28, 1962) is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player who is a five-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, most notably as the winner of the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event and ...
and
Josh Arieh
Josh Arieh (born September 26, 1974 in Rochester, New York) is an American professional poker player. Arieh has been competing in poker competitions since 1999.
Tournament history
Arieh finished in third place in the 2004 World Series of Po ...
, whom he defeated heads-up to win the tournament.
At the
2010 World Series of Poker, Alaei first finished 7th in the $50,000 Player's Championship Event for $221,105 before clinching his third WSOP bracelet when he defeated 345 players to win the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship for $780,599.
At the
2013 World Series of Poker
The 2013 World Series of Poker was the 44th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). It was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada between May 29 – July 15, 2013. There was 62 bracelet events, culminating in the $10,000 No Li ...
, Alaei won his fourth WSOP bracelet when he won the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship for $852,692. He also cashed the $111,111
Big One for One Drop
The Big One for One Drop is a $1,000,000 buy-in No Limit Texas hold 'em tournament hosted at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Added in 2012, it became the highest buy-in poker tournament in history as well as the largest single payout offered. T ...
Super High Roller Event for $173,723.
At the
2015 World Series of Poker, Alaei won the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship event for his fifth career bracelet and $391,097.
As of 2015, his total live tournament winnings exceed $6,800,000. His 20 cashes at the WSOP account for $2,535,621 of those winnings.
World Series of Poker Earnings
, worldseriesofpoker.com
World Series of Poker Bracelets
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alaei, Daniel
1982 births
American poker players
World Series of Poker bracelet winners
World Poker Tour winners
American people of Iranian-Assyrian descent
People from Santa Fe Springs, California
Living people