Gregory Brooks

Total Winnings
$1,654,120

Oftentimes, when someone wins the very first WPT event they enter, the assumption is they were an amateur who had an amazing run or got lucky. That is not the case for Season IX LA Poker Classic Champion Gregory Brooks though. Brooks may have avoided the live tournament scene prior to entering the LAPC Main Event, but he is no stranger the game. After making money by cashing in on online poker site bonuses during his early years at Wake Forest University, Brooks eventually started playing online cash games to make a living. He quickly ascended stakes, building a sizable bankroll in the process.

A savvy businessman as well as a poker shark, Brooks helped to create and launch the online poker training site Leggo Poker in 2007. Brooks has since stepped down from day to day duties of the company and, shortly before the LAPC began in 2011, Brooks thought he would take a break from poker as well. Were it not for a neighbor encouraging him to play the WPT event as part of a lengthy West Coast vacation, Brooks may have gone his whole life without ever playing a major live tournament. He took his neighbor’s advice though, and the decision to play proved to be a life-changing one.

Armed with a rail of patriotically dressed supporters, the 23-year-old Brooks came into the LAPC final table as a dark horse, overshadowed by the star power of past WPT winners Vivek Rajkumar and Carlos Mortensen. It was Brooks who stole the spotlight though, as his expert play sent his more famous competitors packing. Brooks earned $1,654,120 and a WPT title in one of the biggest tournaments of the year.