James Hoeppner

Birthplace
Lincoln, NE

Hometown
Las Vegas, NV

Birthday
October 15

Total Winnings
$93,326

These days it seems like the kids are going straight from high school graduation and into a life of poker. James Hoeppner, though, is a study of making poker part of his second rather than first life. He didn't start playing poker until he was in his late 30s. He turned to poker only after making a successful career as a certified public accountant.

Hoeppner's first major score came in the 2000 Euro Finals of Poker Pot-Limit Omaha event. His fourth place finish earned him more than $20,000 and a realization that he could make some good money slinging cards. One year later, he took second place in the 2001 Tournament of Champions for more than $33,000 and made the final table of the WSOP Deuce-to-seven event. While he'd made a lot of money playing poker, he was still looking for the big first place finish. He got it one month later at the Legends of Poker, where he won $78,000 in the main event.

Hoeppner stayed on the poker circuit, racking up cashes in tournament after tournament. He finally hit a big World Poker Tour score at the Season 1 WPT Championship. He battled though an amazingly tough field and made the final table. His sixth place finish there earned him more than $93,000. Hoeppner continues to spend time on the poker circuit and has more than half a million dollars in career winnings.