Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is known as “Kid Poker”, and for good reason. He was born on July 26th, 1974, and has been playing on the professional poker circuit since the age of 21. Not only did he start playing with the big boys and girls at a young age, his boyish looks and fun-loving nature make him still seem very young. This and his obvious poker skills made, and continue to make, his nickname stick. Mistaking Daniel Negreanu for a rookie kid when it comes to poker would be a huge mistake, however. Negreanu knows what he is doing, and after one false start, his ranking among some of the top poker players in the world is now well established.
Daniel Negreanu was born in Romania to Constantin and Annie Negreanu. In 1967, Daniel’s parents moved the family to Canada. Daniel left high school right before graduation to concentrate on being a poker hustler. He played in local Canadian charity casinos, and in any other games he could find in his area. By the age of 21, Negreanu had amassed enough money to try his luck playing professional poker in Las Vegas. Unfortunately this was Negreanu’s false start, and he moved back to Canada briefly to once again build up his depleted bankroll.
Daniel Negreanu was not discouraged by his setback, and in 1997 he earned $133,600 at the World Poker Finals in Connecticut, at the famous Foxwoods Resort and Casino. After this, Negreanu never looked back. In 1998 he played in the World Series of Poker at Binion’s Horseshoe in Las Vegas, Nevada, and walked away with a No Limit Texas Holdem bracelet and $169,460. In 1998, at the age of 23, Daniel Negreanu became the youngest person to win a World Series of Poker bracelet.
Daniel’s goal was to play in as many poker tournaments as possible, and over the next few years he raked up a lot of serious tournament winnings for finishing among the top players.
During this time he also earned two more World Series of Poker bracelets.
Daniel’s talent did not go unnoticed. When Wynn Las Vegas opened in the spring of 2005, they recruited Negreanu to be their poker ambassador, where he played in all of their stakes poker games. Daniel stayed their ambassador until October of that same year, but then left so he could play in more games and tournaments in other places. His tournament winnings have put him in the “millionaire” category of poker players, and he has branched out into other areas besides just playing poker. Daniel now has an official poker website, “Full Contact Poker”, where he occasionally plays under the name “KidPoker”. He also writes a blog on his poker website. In addition, he writes columns for CardPlayer Magazine, and has contributed some tips and strategies to one of Doyle Brunson’s books on poker. Negreanu also tutors people in the game of poker for a fee; Toby Maquire of “Spiderman” fame has been one of his more famous students. In February of 2006, Negreanu was dubbed “Favorite Poker Player” at the Card Player, Player of the Year awards.
Daniel Negreanu’s poker winnings as of April of 2006 totaled $7,800,000, making him only second to Tuan Le for being the leading money winner on the World Poker Tour circuit. He married Lori Lin Weber in August of 2005, and he and Lori live in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a regular figure on television, where he can be seen playing in televised tournaments all of the time. At his young age, Negreanu is a major player in the poker world, and will most likely continue to be for many years to come. Time will only tell what other goals Daniel Negreanu will be able to accomplish – but there’s no doubt that there will be many.
Daniel Negreanu doesn’t care how you pronounce his name, (It’s pronounced “Ne GRAH new”.) He gets plenty of variations of that pronunciation, but this 30-year-old World Class poker player has more on his mind than his ego. For one thing, according to Negreanu’s blog, he recently enjoyed a couple of days watching his favorite shows, which his Tivo had been minding until he got some down time.
Daniel Negreanu is, refreshingly, content to be who he is. He doesn’t mind letting on that he listens to birds chirp and the calm of ocean waves while he’s playing poker. He doesn’t mind letting everyone know how much he misses his dog, Mushu, when he has to be away from him. Famous for his candor and all around nice guy image, Daniel Negreanu promises nothing except “what you see is what you get.” Actually, that’s a lot.
It’s no secret that Negreanu won and lost his fortune many times before he became one of the best poker players on the circuit. It took him years to evolve into the modest yet confident winner he is today, and the fact that he allows others to see his struggle along the way only makes the rest of us appreciate him more.
There’s little that makes you smile more than a married man who wants the world to know how happily married he is. In a recent blog, Daniel wrote of missing his wife Lori Lin, and his pride in her and love for her as she works in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. Not long ago, he wrote an article titled “The Woman who Made Me”, giving Lori a lot of the credit for his poker success. More than anything else, he seems grateful to his wife for the support she gives him for his poker playing, without any of the petty guilt trips or games he has experienced in the past. He seems to have the sense that with Lori, he has all that he needs to have in order to put his best poker face forward.
Daniel Negreanu doesn’t mind giving credit where credit is due. In 2002, he wrote a 3-part article titled, “The Woman who broke me”. The article reveals a losing streak Daniel was on when he was involved in a certain relationship. He writes of incessant phone calls asking when he was coming home, and little understanding of his passion. While he doesn’t blame anyone directly for losing during that or any other time, he relates how important it is for him to feel supported by the people in his life. It’s a delicious little peek into the soul of a man that many admire.
Even with all of the millions he has earned playing tournament poker, Daniel Negreanu is still Daniel Negreanu. The “Poker Kid” writes articles and blogs regularly, and still enjoys playing against anyone in an online poker game.
Negreanu’s video game “Stacked” will be in stores May 30, 2006. Created for the Xbox and the PS2, it is a Texas Holdem poker game that features a poker school so players are learning while they’re playing. Players can also play Stacked with other players.
Even though playing poker is Daniel Negreanu’s work, he feels it’s important to keep the game fun. If he wins a couple of million while he’s having fun, that’s just gravy. After all, he’s still got Lori and Mushu to go home to.