News / nono / 23 June 2008 / Leave a comment

The 2008 Omaha High-Low Split World Champion is David Benyamine. He calls two cities "home" - Paris, France and Las Vegas, NV. Benyamine is a 35-year-old professional poker player.

Benyamine plays regularly in some of the highest-stakes cash poker games in the world. In recent years, he has been on the unofficial short list as one of the greatest players in the game not to have won a WSOP victory, until now.

Benyamine was born in Paris, France. He aspired to be a professional tennis player and had the talent to succeed at one point. However, a painful back injury forced him to take up other competitive pursuits.

After retiring from professional tennis, Benyamine focused largely on shooting pool and eventually became one of the best pocket billiards players in France.

Benyamine says that if it were not for poker, he would have loved to have been an archeologist. He says he enjoys discovering new things. However, Benyamine also stated matter-of-factly, "I also think I would have found poker one way or another. I have too much gamble in me."

When asked about the importance of winning a WSOP gold bracelet, Benyamine was overjoyed. However, the self-confident Frenchman added, "Winning is always important to me. But I never thought I had anything to prove."

Benyamine dispelled the notion that he prefers playing Pot-Limit Omaha to other forms of poker. "I like all games," he said. "I do not have a favorite game."

Benyamine's all-around poker talent is perhaps best reflected in his four cashes this year, in four different games.

When asked about his toughest opponent at this final table, Benyamine jokingly answered, "Myself, and the deck."

Benyamine won $535,678 for first place. This was also his first WSOP gold bracelet victory.