Barry Greenstein has become a well-known person approximately in 2003. However he has been playing poker since 70’s. More than that – he has been participating in the biggest Vegas game and has won more money than any other player in last decade. But that is not what he is famous for. What is really amazing is that he donates all his tournament earning for charity. He is called “The Robin Hood of Poker” for that.
Childhood Barry had a happy childhood. His mother was affectionate and loving and would do anything for her son. Barry’s father was a good poker player and taught the son to play the game at early age. He used to play cards with his family almost every evening. By the time he was 13 he made from $30 to $50 every evening playing home games. Since his childhood he wanted to become a professional poker player. A Programmer Barry has always been an intelligent guy. He developed his own software at age 15. He attended The University of Illinois and received a Bachelor degree there. After it he began working on his Ph.D thesis and played big poker games for living. In 1985 he found a regular job. “I was one of the initial employees at a start-up company that became known as Symantec,” recalls Greenstein. Symantec is mostly famous for creating Norton Antivirus. After getting the job his income decreased. “My salary at Symantec was far less than I could have made playing poker at that time,” he says. “But my years at Symantec were very fulfilling since I was able to do something productive.” So he worked at the company and continued playing poker. When he had free time he proceeded working on his Ph.D thesis. A Charity Contributor In order to teach his children to help others he began donating to charity. First he bought cloths for poor children. Then he contacted Children, Inc., a worldwide child sponsorship organization. Children, involved in the charity program, are assisted by the coordinators who manage the charity money. However, most of these coordinators live in poverty themselves. So Barry decided to change the situation. In 2003 he won $1 million Stud event at Hustler Casino. He decided to donate $1000 to each of more than 440 Children, Inc. employers. He sent the money to all parts of the world and received tons of letters with gratitude. $1000 was an extremely huge sum for those people. In third-world countries in South America and places like Sri Lanka and India the recipients couldn’t even cash the checks. They sent the checks back and Greenstein had to make some arrangements for them to receive the money. Barry is very kind and generous and it is highly appreciated by people. If you visit his site you’ll see a very long list of organizations, which have received money from him. However, being so general with people he even has’t ever see, he never helps his colleges. “I give money to help young children, not poker players,” he states. “If someone comes to me for help, I assume he is a losing player.”A Gambler He is a real poker pro who makes very big money at a poker table. Though he is a shy person and does not like public speeches he is a very aggressive player. “When we play in the biggest games we usually play a mix of games, eight hands at a time, before moving on to the next game. I like to have as many games in the mix as possible since I am comfortable with all of the games, but some of my opponents are not.”
