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Eli Elezra is an Israeli-born professional poker player, born in Jerusalem in 1960 and based in Las Vegas, who was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2021. [1][3] A regular in the biggest cash games in Las Vegas for more than 20 years and a familiar face from High Stakes Poker, he has also won five World Series of Poker bracelets, all in mixed-game formats, and the 2004 World Poker Tour Mirage Poker Showdown for $1,024,574. [1][3][7]
Eli Elezra: key facts
| Full name | Eliahu Elezra [2] |
|---|---|
| Nickname | “Mr. Vegas” [1] |
| Born | November 24, 1960, Jerusalem, Israel [1] |
| Nationality | Israel [1] |
| Lives in | Las Vegas, Nevada [3] |
| Known for | High-stakes cash games, High Stakes Poker, mixed-game tournaments |
| Poker Hall of Fame | Inducted 2021 [3] |
| WSOP bracelets | 5 (94 WSOP cashes, 28 final tables) [2] |
| Major titles | WPT Mirage Poker Showdown 2004; U.S. Poker Open $10,000 8-Game 2021 [7][8] |
| Live tournament earnings | $5,818,119 as of October 5, 2026 [1] |
Early life: Jerusalem, the army and Alaska
Elezra was born on November 24, 1960, in Jerusalem. Like many Israelis he served in the army, in the Golani Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. According to PokerNews, he spent three weeks in prison for refusing to comply with military orders and later became a lieutenant. A leg injury in the 1982 Lebanon War ended his military career, and he learned more about poker while recovering in hospital. [1]
After his discharge he moved to Alaska, where he worked in a cannery and then as a taxi driver, and where he first played poker in a game with other taxi drivers. He then followed his sister and brother-in-law to Las Vegas, where the family opened retail businesses, including film development and T-shirt shops. By the time poker became his main occupation, the family had 20 stores. [5]
Elezra is married to Hila Elezra. His fifth WSOP bracelet, in 2022, came on the couple’s 31st anniversary. [4]
Beginning in poker: from the Stardust to Bellagio
Elezra told PokerNews he has played in Las Vegas since 1987. He started at $20/$40 and $40/$80 at the Stardust, across the street from one of the family’s shops, and played his first tournament at the Horseshoe around 1990. By the late 1990s he was a regular in the $500/$1,000 Stud game at the Mirage. When Bellagio opened in the fall of 1998, he followed Bobby Baldwin’s invitation there and played $1,000/$2,000 and $1,500/$3,000 with Doyle Brunson and Chip Reese, a game that later rose as high as $6,000/$12,000. [5]
In the same interview he described the swings of those games: his biggest single-day loss was $1.1 million, over 30 hours against John Young Brown, and his biggest one-night win was $1.8 million. [5] His first WSOP cash came in 1999, when he finished seventh in a $2,500 Limit Omaha event. [1] He began playing more tournaments during the poker boom, and finished 170th in the 2004 WSOP Main Event. [5]
Playing style
Elezra describes himself as a mixed-game player first. After his 2022 bracelet he said: “I know I am a dog in No-limit Hold’em. I’m not as good in regular PLO, but I love mixed games.” [4] His five bracelets came in Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo, 2-7 Triple Draw and Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo. [1] Of his no-limit play on television, he told PokerNews in 2016 that “on High Stakes Poker I simply played ABC poker and won.” [5]
PokerNews noted at his induction that, despite his tournament results, he has earned the respect of his peers mainly as a high-stakes cash game player. [3] He has also described a rule he learned from Chip Reese: after two losing days in a row, he never plays a third. [5]
Greatest achievements
WSOP bracelets
| Year | Event | Result | Prize | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship (284 entrants) | 1st | $611,362 | [4] |
| 2007 | $3,000 World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo | 1st | $198,984 | [6] |
| 2013 | $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit) | 1st | $173,236 | [1] |
| 2015 | $1,500 Seven Card Stud | 1st | $112,591 | [1] |
| 2019 | $1,500 Seven Card Stud | 1st | $93,766 | [1] |
His first bracelet, in 2007, came after a heads-up match against Scotty Nguyen in Event #24. PokerNews reported that Elezra, one of the few Big Game regulars without a bracelet at the time, also won a $25,000 prop bet with Barry Greenstein over whether he would win a bracelet that year. [6] The fifth, in July 2022, came in Event #63 against Chino Rheem, in a field of a record 284 entrants and a $2.6 million prize pool. Elezra was 62, and his father Michel had died in Israel 18 days earlier. [4]
Other tournament results
| Year | Event | Result | Prize | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | WPT Mirage Poker Showdown, $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em (281 entrants) | 1st | $1,024,574 | [7] |
| 2021 | WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship | 4th | $286,983 | [1] |
| 2018 | WSOP $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship | 2nd | $258,297 | [1] |
| 2021 | U.S. Poker Open $10,000 8-Game (68 entries) | 1st | $183,600 | [8] |
| 2011 | WSOP $10,000 Main Event | 107th | $54,851 | [1] |
The Mirage Poker Showdown, held from July 29 to August 1, 2004, had a prize pool of $2,725,700. Elezra beat Lee Watkinson heads-up, at a final table that also included Gabe Kaplan, John Juanda and Scotty Nguyen. [7] It remains the largest tournament score of his career, ahead of his $611,362 bracelet win in 2022. [1] In the 2021 U.S. Poker Open 8-Game event, broadcast on PokerGO, he eliminated Daniel Negreanu in third place and then came from behind to beat Steve Zolotow heads-up, from a $680,000 prize pool. [8]
World Series of Poker record
His WSOP.com profile lists 5 bracelets, 94 cashes, 28 final tables and $4,637,032 in total earnings, a figure that also includes a PokerGO Tour result shown on the profile. [2] His best Main Event finish listed by PokerNews is 107th, in 2011. [1]
Poker Hall of Fame, 2021
Elezra was first nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame in 2016, at 55. [5] He was inducted in 2021 as the Hall’s 60th member, announced before Day 2 of the WSOP Main Event final table. The other players on that year’s ballot were Mike Matusow, Michael Mizrachi, Layne Flack, Bertrand Grospellier, Antonio Esfandiari, Chris Ferguson and Ted Forrest. Robbie Strazynski, founder of Cardplayer Lifestyle, called him Israel’s “first ever representative in the Poker Hall of Fame”. [3]
Television and book
Elezra is best known to TV audiences from GSN’s High Stakes Poker, which ran for seven seasons from 2006 to 2011. He played in six of them and, according to PokerNews, posted wins in five; contractual obligations with Full Tilt Poker kept him out of the final season. [5] He also appeared on Poker After Dark and was a Full Tilt Poker pro. [3]
His autobiography, Pulling the Trigger: The Autobiography of Poker Pro Eli Elezra, was first released in Hebrew in March 2017. The 280-page book covers his childhood in Jerusalem, the 1982 Lebanon War and his work in Alaska, and opens with his 2004 WPT win. Robbie Strazynski translated it into English for Two Plus Two Publishing, with a release set for January 3, 2019. [9]
In his own words
- “Amazing, amazing, thank you.” On his Hall of Fame induction, adding: “I finally made it.” November 2021. [3]
- “I would kill to get in there.” On the Hall of Fame, as a first-time nominee in 2016. [5]
- “I wanted to win for him. And I did it.” On his late father, after his fifth bracelet, July 2022. [4]
- “I love the competition, I love the adrenaline.” July 2022. [4]
- “When you love a game, the game loves you back.” On mixed games, July 2022. [4]
Iconic hands and moments
Eli Elezra’s best High Stakes Poker hands (PokerGO)
Daniel Negreanu vs. Eli Elezra, mixed game final table (PokerGO)
Heart of a World Poker Tour Champion (World Poker Tour)
FAQ about Eli Elezra
How old is Eli Elezra?
Eli Elezra was born on November 24, 1960, so he is 65 as of October 5, 2026. [1]
What is Eli Elezra’s net worth?
There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified is his live tournament record: $5,818,119 in earnings as of October 5, 2026, according to PokerNews with data from The Hendon Mob. Much of his career has been spent in high-stakes cash games, whose results are not published. [1]
When was Eli Elezra inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame?
In 2021, as the Hall’s 60th member. [3]
What is Eli Elezra’s biggest tournament win?
The 2004 WPT Mirage Poker Showdown, worth $1,024,574. [1][7]
Who is Eli Elezra’s wife?
He is married to Hila Elezra. [4]
Did Eli Elezra write a book?
Yes. His autobiography Pulling the Trigger was published in Hebrew in March 2017, with an English edition from Two Plus Two Publishing translated by Robbie Strazynski. [9]
Related Poker Legends
Read more about Scotty Nguyen, his heads-up opponent for his first bracelet, and about Doyle Brunson and Chip Reese, his opponents in the Bellagio high-stakes games.
Sources
- PokerNews, Eli Elezra player profile, accessed October 5, 2026.
- WSOP.com, Eliahu Elezra player profile, accessed October 5, 2026.
- PokerNews, Eli Elezra Selected as 2021 Poker Hall of Fame Inductee, November 17, 2021.
- PokerNews, Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra Wins Fifth WSOP Bracelet in $10K PLO-8 Championship, July 2, 2022.
- PokerNews, From High Stakes to the Hall of Fame Doorstep: The Life and Times of Eli Elezra, September 28, 2016.
- PokerNews, WSOP Updates, Event #24, $3,000 7CS Hi-Lo: Eli Elezra Tops Nguyen for First Bracelet, June 17, 2007.
- Card Player, 2004 Mirage Poker Showdown (WPT), No-Limit Hold’em results, accessed October 5, 2026.
- PokerNews, Eli Elezra Defeats Zolotow & Negreanu to Win the USPO $10K 8-Game, June 10, 2021.
- PokerNews, Two Plus Two Publishing to Release English Version of Eli Elezra Autobiography, November 16, 2018.
Last verified: October 5, 2026. Figures that change over time, such as career earnings, are given with the date they were checked.
