Steven Paul "Steve" Dannenmann (born August 15, 1966 in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

) is a CPA from

Severn, Maryland Severn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Severn is 57,118, a 22.6% increase from 44,231 according to the 2010 census. The zip code is 21144. Geograp ...

who gained attention in the poker world for his success in the

2005 World Series of Poker The 2005 World Series of Poker opened play on June 2nd, continuing through the Main Event No Limit World Championship starting on July 7th. The conclusion of the Main Event on July 15th marked the close of play, and the largest prize in sports an ...

, finishing runner-up to

Joe Hachem Joseph Hachem ( ar, جوزف هاشم; ; born 11 March 1966) is a Lebanese-Australian professional poker player known for being the first Australian to win the World Series of Poker main event, which earned him $7.5 million, then a record for al ...

in the Main Event in his first attempt. He won $4,250,000 as the result of this second place finish.

Accounting career

Dannenmann has been a certified public accountant, financial advisor and mortgage loan officer in his own firm since 1991. After his second place Main Event finish, Dannenmann said that he would not quit his job because it has taken a long time to establish his business and finds much passion advising his clients to make sound financial decisions.

Poker career

Arriving as a fresh face on the poker scene, during one WSOP segment he claimed to be merely "the fourth best player in his home game" prior to his entry in the Main Event. In fact the 2005 WSOP Main Event was his very first recorded tournament cash. Before this, he mainly played in his home game with friends. He did not want to pay the entire main event fee himself so he split the $10,000 entry fee 50/50 with his friend Jerry Ditzel. After finishing 2nd in the Main Event, Dannenmann split the $4,250,000 prize with him. Dannenmann feels that

Dan Harrington Dan Harrington (born December 6, 1945) is a professional poker player, best known for winning the Main Event at the 1995 World Series of Poker. He has earned one World Poker Tour title, two WSOP bracelets, and over six million dollars in tourn ...

's book on the end-game of No Limit Hold-Em tournaments helped him greatly with his success. He read volume II just days before playing the Main Event. On the way to second place, he knocked out 1994 WSOP champion Russ Hamilton and

Mike Matusow Michael Matusow (born April 30, 1968) is an American professional poker player residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table. Matusow began playing poker seriously ...

. His finish in the main event qualified him for the 2005 WSOP Tournament of Champions, where he finished in fifth place and won $100,000. During the final table, he lambasted

Phil Hellmuth Jr 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 ...

for his behaviour toward the tournament director by refusing to stack his chips and purposely and continuously slowing the tournament down. Dannenmann considers himself to be superstitious. He refuses to ride in a cab unless the cab ended in an even number that year, wore the same shirt 7 days in a row during the tournament, and used his lucky globe as a card protector. In the

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

after the WSOP Main Event, Dannenmann said that he found that playing poker for seven consecutive days for 12–14 hours to be boring, which led to criticism from some professionals. He has also competed on 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 has cashed in two events. His highest WPT cash was $65,000 for his 11th-place finish in the 2008 Borgata Poker Open tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey. As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,500,000. His 3 cashes at the WSOP account for $4,271,489 of those winnings.World Series of Poker Earnings
, worldseriesofpoker.com

Notes

External links

Official siteESPN article on Dannenmann keeping his day job
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dannenmann, Steve 1966 births American poker players People from Baltimore Living people People from Severn, Maryland