Michael Binger, a newly made doctor of physics, was the third-place finisher at the final table of the Main Event of the 37th annual World Series of Poker, that was played at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. A man with chiseled features hidden under dark shades and a backwards turned baseball cap, Binger played hard poker and managed to outlast pro Allen Cunningham, a favorite for the win. He did his best to play against the chip leader Jamie Gold, but eventually took his third-place bow and a little over $4 million.
Originally from Delray Beach, Florida, Binger earned his Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University barely 2 months before his appearance in the Amazon Room and on the ESPN cameras. The 29 year-old part-time poker pro now lives in Atherton, California and has played at the World Series of Poker twice. Even if he had not made the final table in the Main Event, his earlier performance surely could have been counted as a victory when he took a sixth place finish at a $1500 buy-in No Limit Texas Holdem event and banked $100,000. As you can see this was not his only victory in the world of tournament poker, but certainly his greatest. Binger showed the world that he can play poker as he moved from eighth place at the start of the final table to third place at the end. Michael Binger's results in other tournaments include:EventPlacePrize$10,000 No Limit Texas HoldemWorld Championship Event, 2006 World Series of Poker3$4,123,310$1,500 No Limit Holdem2006 World Series of Poker6$101,570Five-Star World Poker Classic, No Limit HoldemWPT Championship Season 423$3,615$250,000 No Limit HoldemBattle of the Bay5$1,750
