Farzad "Freddy" Bonyadi (born 1959) is an Iranian 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 based in

Aliso Viejo, California Aliso Viejo (Spanish for "Old Sycamore") is a city in the San Joaquin Hills of southern Orange County, California. It had a population of 47,823 as of the 2010 census, up from 40,166 as of the 2000 census. It became Orange County's 34th city on ...

, who has won 4

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pla ...

bracelets. Bonyadi moved from Iran to America in 1983, where he worked as an executive host in the LA Commerce Casino and as a shift manager at Hollywood Park Casino. Bonyadi first major tournament success came when he won the $2,000

limit Limit or Limits may refer to: Arts and media * ''Limit'' (manga), a manga by Keiko Suenobu * ''Limit'' (film), a South Korean film * Limit (music), a way to characterize harmony * "Limit" (song), a 2016 single by Luna Sea * "Limits", a 2019 ...

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 cards are dealt fac ...

event at the

1998 World Series of Poker The 1998 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe. Preliminary events Main Event There were 350 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament. The 1998 Main Event was nota ...

(WSOP), defeating a final table that included

Mimi Tran Thithi "Mimi" Tran (born July 5, 1960) is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player. Biography Tran was born in Nha Trang, Vietnam. After moving to the United States in 1982, Tran found work in the electronics industry in Silicon Vall ...

and

John Cernuto John Anthony Cernuto (born January 10, 1944, in Jersey City, New Jersey) also known as ''Miami'', is an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada, specialising in Omaha hi-lo events. Cernuto has won over $5,500,000 in live ...

on the way to a $429,940 first prize. In the same WSOP, he also made the final table of the $1,500 seven card stud split event, and placed

in the money In finance, moneyness is the relative position of the current price (or future price) of an underlying asset (e.g., a stock) with respect to the strike price of a derivative, most commonly a call option or a put option. Moneyness is firstly a thr ...

in the $10,000

no limit No Limit may refer to: Music Record labels *No Limit Records, a record label founded by Master P * No Limit Forever Records, a record label founded by Romeo Miller, son of Master P Albums * ''No Limit'' (Art Pepper album), 1977 * ''No Limit'' ...

hold'em main event. Bonyadi also made a final table in the

Season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also

* {{disambig ...

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the fi ...

(WPT) Legends of Poker event, where he finished 5th at a final table featuring

Mel Judah Mel Judah (born 8 October 1947 in Kolkata, India) is an Australian professional poker player, also known as "The Silver Fox" (a nickname he shares with fellow poker player Peter Costa). He learned poker at the age of 14 by watching his father ...

, Paul Phillips, T. J. Cloutier,

Chip Jett Charles McRae "Chip" Jett (born September 22, 1974 in Scottsdale, Arizona) is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He is one of the most popular players on the World Poker Tour. Jett has been known as "Chip" ever sinc ...

and

Phil Laak Philip Courtney Laak (born September 8, 1972) is an Irish–American professional poker player and a poker commentator, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Laak holds a World Poker Tour (WPT) title, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, a ...

. Bonyadi made a second WPT final table when he finished runner-up to

Scott Seiver Scott Seiver (born April 14, 1985 in Columbus, Ohio) is a professional poker player from Cold Spring Harbor, New York, now residing in Las Vegas, Nevada who won the 2008 World Series of Poker $5,000 No Limit Hold'em event and is the winner of t ...

in the

Season 9 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

WPT Championship, netting $1,069,900. Bonyadi has also won WSOP bracelets in the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

$1,000 deuce to seven triple draw and the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

no limit hold'em tournaments. At the

2018 WSOP The 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the 49th annual tournament, and took place from May 30 to July 17 at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. There was a record 78 bracelet events. The $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event ...

, Bonyadi's mother, Farhintaj Bonyadi, won the $1,000 Super Seniors No Limit Hold'em event, making them the first mother/son World Series of Poker bracelet winners. As of 2021, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,500,000. His 31 cashes at the WSOP account for over $2,200,000 of those winnings.

World Series of Poker Bracelets

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonyadi, Farzad American poker players Iranian poker players World Series of Poker bracelet winners Living people 1950s births People from Aliso Viejo, California American people of Iranian descent