Russ Hamilton is best known as the winner of the 1994 WSOP main event.
Hamilton was pursuing a degree in electrical engineering before one of his professors told him that he could make more money playing poker for a living. After playing in local games in Detroit, he moved to Las Vegas at age of 36 where he joined a tournament blackjack team. After a successful run, he turned back to poker after blackjack tournaments started barring professional players.
Hamilton has won World Championships in several types of casino games. He also invented Elimination Blackjack and founded the Ultimate Blackjack Tour in 2005.
In 1994, he won the World Series of Poker main event bracelet. He defeated Hugh Vincent in heads-up play and won $1 million in first-prize money, as well as his body weight in silver.
He has 8 WSOP cashes for a total of $1,261,940. His other notable cash was a $145,875 payout in the 2005 Main Event. He also has 2 WPT cashes. As of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,500,000.
After winning his WSOP bracelet, Hamilton has served as a gaming industry expert, including serving as a consultant for UltimateBet. In September 2008, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (an online poker regulator) found Hamilton largely responsible for cheating Ultimate Bet players out of $6.1 million between the approximate dates of May 2004 to January 2008 by using software that allowed him to see opponent's hole cards. Russ Hamilton was the main person responsible for, and benefiting from, the cheating incidents at Ultimate Bet.
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HPG ADMIN on February 27, 2013