World Poker Tour

Mark Weitzman

Birthplace
Tel Aviv, Israel

Hometown
Las Vegas, NV

Birthday
December 7

Total Winnings
$569,382

Mark Weitzman, now of Los Angeles, California, was actually born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He came to the United States and was raised in Brooklyn, New York. Education was always a priority to him, so he graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in Physics, then moved to California to get a Masters in Physics from Caltech, and finally went back to the east coast to get his J.D. from George Washington University. Though he used his degrees for solid employment as a pension consultant and actuarial consultant, he truly wanted to be a theoretical physicist, though he has yet to achieve that particular goal. He was studying for his PhD at Caltech when he dropped out and became a professional poker player.

Mark’s career as a professional poker player began more than 20 years ago when he discovered card rooms in California and that Las Vegas was only a short drive or flight away. It has been mainly cash games that have sustained him through the years, though he did begin experimenting with tournaments in 1992. Primarily, it has been the World Series of Poker that brought him to the major tournament scene each year, and he has substantial results to prove that he has the ability to do it – ten WSOP cashes that include six final tables.

In 2007, Mark gave the World Poker Tour a shot after watching from afar for years. He made two final tables, one at the 2007 WPT Borgata Poker Open where he finished in fourth place for $380,240, and the other only two months later at the WPT World Poker Finals at Foxwoods where he went out in sixth place for $189,142. Though he does not enjoy the limelight or being in front of TV cameras, he has done well for himself on the WPT. Still, his passion is for the high-limit mixed cash games. And his dreams for the future still include completing his PhD, becoming a teacher in New York City, and buying his own plane to further his enjoyment of being a private pilot.