Blair Rodman

Birthplace
Troy, NY

Birthday
April 5

Total Winnings
$377,815

Born in Troy, New York, Blair Rodman took the traditional route through college and achieved a B.S. degree in business, and though that has come into play when managing his bankrolls and tournament winnings, it hasn't been used to climb any sort of corporate ladder. His heart was always in a casino, so he moved to Las Vegas to immerse himself in the gaming life. He took a job as a craps dealer to pay the bills, but most of his time was spent sports betting, participating in blackjack tournaments, playing golf, and playing poker. And in 1985, he quit the dealer job and was able to support himself ever since through his gaming profits.

While no road through the gaming life is easy, Blair always seemed to have something to fall back on with his various forms of betting and many years of experience with each. Though some of his fame was gained through blackjack tournaments, golf has been his favorite game and poker has always been his greatest strength. In 1987, he took his poker game from the cash tables to the tournament circuit and began showing dominance there as well.

Blair has accumulated nearly $2 million in poker tournament winnings alone, and instead of waning after so many years, he seems to be continually improving his game. Out of 28 total World Series of Poker cashes, eight of those have been final tables, one of which was his first ever WSOP victory in 2007 in the $2,000 no-limit hold'em event where he won his biggest cash prize to date of $707,898. He also has several televised final tables to his credit. In 2005, he appeared at the final table of the Professional Poker Tour's Mirage Poker Showdown and finished fifth. And that same year, he placed second at the WPT's World Poker Challenge in Reno for a prize of over $325,000, then finished second the following year at the WPT Invitational. When Blair isn't taking over the poker tables, he's also writing books, having written several including the famed Kill Phil.