Lyle Arnold Berman (born August 6, 1941, in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...

) is an American 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 wa ...

player and

business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations ...

Business

Berman grew up in Minnesota and attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

where he was graduated in 1964 with a degree in business administration. He then went to work for his father's leather business, Berman Buckskin. When the business was sold to W. R. Grace in 1979, he stayed on as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. The company was then later sold to the

Melville Corporation Melville Corporation, formerly based in Rye, New York, was a large retail holding company incorporated by Ward Melville in 1922 from Melville Shoe Company. It became CVS Corporation in 1996 under a massive reorganization plan. The company trade ...

where it became Wilsons Leather. From 1994 to 2000 he was the chairman and CEO of the

Rainforest Cafe Rainforest Cafe is a jungle-themed restaurant chain owned by Landry's, Inc., of Houston. It was founded by Steven Schussler. The first location opened in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, on February 3, 1994. By 1997, the chain con ...

chain of restaurants and retail stores. Berman also played an important role in gaming companies. In 1990 he was a co-founder of Grand Casinos, a company that sought to create gambling establishments outside of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

and

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. Grand Casinos' Native American casino holdings were spun off into a new company,

Lakes Entertainment Lakes Entertainment, Inc. was an American gaming company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. It merged with Golden Gaming in 2015 to form Golden Entertainment. History The company was created on December 31, 1998 as part of the merger between Grand ...

, and Berman was named CEO. Additionally, Berman is the chairman of the board of the

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 f ...

and

Pokertek PokerTek was a company that developed the PokerPro electronic poker table and Heads-Up Challenge video game, as well as related software applications. The PokerPro table were introduced at casinos in dozens of countries as well as cruise ships. I ...

. He won the

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peo ...

''Great American Traditions'' award in 1995 and the ''Gaming Executive of the Year'' award in 1996. Berman was one of the many investors victimized by the massive Ponzi scheme of

Bernie Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time chairman of the NASDAQ ...

, though his actual losses are unknown.Jennifer Robison
Investors with ties to Las Vegas appear on Madoff's list
Las Vegas Review-Journal, February 7, 2009, accessed November 10, 2011.

Poker

Berman has won 3

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 pl ...

(WSOP) bracelets and is a member of the

Poker Hall of Fame The Poker Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional poker in the United States. Founded in Las Vegas, it was created in 1979 by Benny Binion, the owner of the Horseshoe Casino, to preserve the names and legacies of the world's greatest p ...

. In 2005, Lyle Berman competed in the National Heads Up Championship. He finished in fifth place losing to eventual champion

Phil Hellmuth Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. (born July 16, 1964) is an American professional poker player who has won a record sixteen World Series of Poker bracelets. He is the winner of the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the Main Event ...

Jr. in the quarterfinals. Although he prefers high-stakes cash games, he has as of 2009 won over $2,500,000 in live poker tournaments. His 16 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,446,317 of those winnings. He was inducted into the

in 2002. According to the

James McManus } James "Jim" McManus (born March 22, 1951) is an American teacher, writer and poker player living in Kenilworth, Illinois. He is a professor in the Master of Fine Arts program for writers at the Art Institute of Chicago. Poker and ''Positi ...

book ''Positively Fifth Street'', Berman has bankrolled T. J. Cloutier in numerous poker tournaments, including the 2000 WSOP main event, where he finished 2nd. The book ''All-In'' is about Berman's life. Berman currently resides in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

and has 4 children and 10 grandchildren.

World Series of Poker Bracelets

Publications

Berman co-authore
''I'm All In : Lyle Berman and the Birth of the World Poker Tour''
() with Marvin Karlins. The autobiography details Berman's life from his childhood to his life as an adult, covering his business ventures, his opinions on poker and

, and his experiences with designing and developing the World Poker Tour into what it is today.

References

External links

World Poker Tour profile

Casino City Times book review

Hendon Mob tournament results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Lyle 1941 births Living people Carlson School of Management alumni American poker players World Series of Poker bracelet winners Super Bowl of Poker event winners Poker Hall of Fame inductees