CELEBRITY POKER TV

Phil Gordon: Living it Big

You may know him as one of the commentators in the TV show, Celebrity Poker Showdown. Phil Gordon has a full resume aside from his TV stint. Since 2001 he has won more than $ 1 million in poker tournaments. On the same year he won 4th place in the World Series of Poker championship and he took home $ 400,000. He was also featured on the Travel Channel documentary, 'Inside the World Series of Poker'.

In 2002, Gordon won 6th place in Pot-Limit Hold'em and 3rd place in Omaha 8/better events of the World Series of Poker. He won at the opening tournament of the World Poker Tour in Aruba, in the Pro Division. But Gordon was defeated by Juha Helppi, the amateur division champ.

Gordon became active in sports journalism in 2003 with his gig at Binion's live Internet Broadcast of the World Series of Poker Championship Event, as well as daily updates on a radio station. In 2004, Gordon defeated two opponents simultaneously and won the 'Bay 101 Shooting Stars' of the World Poker Tour.

Gordon has always been brilliant, a genius in fact. He was 15 when he successfully passed the finals of the National Merit Scholarship. He was barely 20 years old when graduated with a degree in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. 1989 was the start of Gordon's career in Lockheed Missiles and Space, just soon after his graduation.

During the start-up of his company, Herb Madan of Netsys Technologies recruited Gordon and gave him the position of software architect. The company was then purchased by Cisco Systems for $ 95 million, which gave Gordon a substantial amount of cash in the process.

Gordon took an early retirement and enjoyed the fruits of his success. Traveling across the globe for the adventure of his life, Gordon had lived a privileged lifestyle.

But after five years, he found home in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. During that time, poker was making waves which caught Gordon's attention. It didn't take him much time to learn the basics and off he went to the tables. His laid-back approach to the game earned him popularity right away, but his skill should not be underestimated for he is a fierce opponent.

Gordon has written three books about poker and a tip booklet for the Celebrity Poker Showdown which is sold as fundraiser for the Cancer Research and Prevention Organization. He has supported this charity since his 2003-2004 Ultimate Sports Adventure fundraising. Phil Gordon is also one of the 'TiltBoys', a renowned team of young poker players. He has helped on the design and software development of the TiltBoys website, which normally features the team's adventures.