David Benyamine


David Benyamine is a French professional poker player with a World Poker Tour title. Benyamine was a professional tennis player in his early career but had to retire because of shoulder pain. He was also a successful top ten billiards player in France. He learned poker at the age of 12 and plays high-stakes cash games on a regular basis. Benyamine is a Pot-Limit Omaha specialist.

Poker career

World Poker Tour

Benyamine has made four final tables in World Poker Tour open events: the 2003 Grand Prix de Paris - 1st place ; the 2004 L.A. Poker Classic - 6th place ; the 2008 Bellagio Cup IV - 2nd place and the 2010 WPT Championship - 4th place -He won the Premier League of Poker IV. He is also the winner of the WPT Battle of Champions II invitational event, where he defeated a final table including fellow professionals Hoyt Corkins, Mel Judah, Antonio Esfandiari, and Phil Laak.

World Series of Poker

Benyamine is primarily a cash game player, but due to comments from his friends, he started playing tournaments more regularly during the 2008 World Series of Poker. He has made four WSOP final tables, three of which were in 2008, which was the same year he won his first bracelet.
YearTournamentPrize
2008$535,687

Other poker ventures

Benyamine played high-stakes online poker under his own name at Full Tilt Poker until the site was shut down.

Poker earnings

As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,500,000. His ten cashes at the WSOP account for $1,206,561 of those winnings.

Personal life

Benyamine lives in Henderson, Nevada. He has one daughter, and was formerly engaged to professional poker and blackjack player Erica Schoenberg. The couple have since separated.