Russ Hamilton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Russ Hamilton**

Nickname(s)	None
Hometown	Las Vegas, Nevada
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)	1
Money finishes	9
Highest ITM main event finish	Winner, 1994
World Poker Tour
Titles	0
Final tables	1
Money Finishes	2

Ever since he was five years old, Russ Hamilton has been following the gambling money. Introduced to the game by his father, he was making a pretty good living by the time he was in high school playing card games and running football pools.

While attending college for a degree in electrical engineering, a conversation with a professor made him realize that he was making more money at cards than he ever would in the real world, so he dropped out of school and started playing professionally.

It wasn’t long, though, before he’d gone as far as he could in the gambling business in Detroit. So at the age of 36, he migrated to the players’ promised land, Las Vegas, with plans to retire early, buy a bar, do his own sports betting and play a little poker.

Instead he joined a tournament blackjack team, which included Stanford Wong, Anthony Curtis, Blair Rodman, Fred David and other blackjack pros. He enjoyed a successful run traveling the world, but when tournaments started barring players like him, he turned back to poker. In 1994 he won the World Series of Poker.

Since then, Russ Hamilton has become one of the world's foremost experts in the gaming industry, having gained an international reputation as both a player and a visionary. He has won World Championships in virtually all types of casino games and has been instrumental in building successful companies in the industry by anticipating where the market is headed. One of these companies is the Ultimate Blackjack Tour, which he founded in 2005.

Russ enjoys playing golf, although he shoots in the mid-90s.