Freddy Deeb “Fast Freddy“

Birthplace
Beirut, Lebanon

Hometown
Las Vegas, NV

Birthday
November 27

Total Winnings
$2,130,595

Kassem “Freddy” Deeb was born in Beirut, Lebanon and came to the United States seeking higher education. He attended Utah State University and was studying for a degree in mechanical engineering when a civil war erupted back in Lebanon. All contact with his family ceased for two years. His parents had been paying his living and education expenses, including his pricy tuition, and the termination of contact with his parents led to his having to drop out of school only twelve credits away from graduation. On a student visa, Deeb was unable to gain legal employment in the United States, so he turned to some West Coast casinos and began to make money playing poker.

Deeb slowly but steadily moved up in limits at the poker tables until he was playing in high stakes games. Despite his success, he kept his career a secret from many who knew him and claimed to be an investor, as poker was considered gambling and frowned upon by many. By the late 1980’s, Deeb was also dabbling in tournament poker and cashed in his first tournament in 1989 – a seven-card stud event in Los Angeles where he claimed second place for more than $36,000. The following year, Deeb found success in Vegas, as he took second place in a $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP.

For the past twenty years, Deeb has remained at the top of the game and he has an illustrious resume of results to prove it. He won his first WSOP bracelet in 1996. Eleven years later, Deeb won his second career bracelet in one of the biggest events of the year, the $50,000 HORSE Championship. The win netted him over $2.2 million, his largest score to date.

The win may have been his biggest score, but it wasn’t Deeb’s first time in the spotlight. A presence on the WPT since its opening season, Deeb made the first-ever Five Diamond World Poker Classic final table, finishing in third place. A couple of years later, Deeb picked up his first WPT title at Season IV’s Aruba Poker Classic. The win was his first seven-figure score, but not the only time he would find himself in the WPT winner’s circle. During Season VII, Deeb picked up title number to at the WPT Celebrity Invitational. Over the years, Deeb has made five WPT final tables and also picked up a victory in the WPT Grand Prix de Paris High Roller event at the start of Season IX.