Russ Hamilton

Russ Hamilton is a poker player best known for winning the 1994 World Series of Poker main event championship, defeating Hugh Vincent in heads-up play and winning $1 million in first-prize money, as well as his body weight in silver.

Hamilton initially attended college and pursued a degree in electrical engineering, before a conversation with a professor led him to decide that playing poker for a living would be more profitable. After playing in underground games in Detroit, he moved to Las Vegas at the age of 36 where he joined a tournament blackjack team. He enjoyed a successful run, but when tournaments started barring blackjack pros, he turned back to poker. In 1994 he won the World Series of Poker main event bracelet.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,500,000.

UltimateBet incident
Since winning his World series bracelet, Hamilton has served as a gaming industry expert, including serving as a consultant for the online poker cardroom UltimateBet where he was involved in recruiting some prominent poker players, including Phil Hellmuth, to promote the site. He has won World Championships in several types of casino games and founded the Ultimate Blackjack Tour in 2005.

On September 29, 2008, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission stated it had found clear and convincing evidence to support a conclusion that between the approximate dates of May 2004 to January 2008, Russ Hamilton was the main person responsible for, and benefitting from, multiple cheating incidents at Ultimate Bet.