Greg Raymer

Gregory Raymer, a professional poker player, rose to poker fame and glory when he won the Main Event of World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2004. Raymer plays under the nickname Fossilman. He has to his credit 1 WSOP bracelet, 14 WSOP cash finishes, and 2 World Poker Tour (WPT) cash finishes.
 

Early Life

Raymer, who was born on June 25, 1964 in North Dakota, moved at least thrice in his childhood with his family. He went to Parkway South High School, after which he enrolled for a chemistry course in the University of Missouri Rolla. He has a master’s degree in biochemistry and another master’s law degree from the Minnesota University. He practiced law for nearly 10 years, before turning his attention to professional poker.

Raymer calls himself Fossilman because of his interest in fossils. His habit of using a fossil to protect his cards while playing poker has been especially noticed.

Poker Career

Raymer had a cash finish during the $1500 Omaha Hi Lo Split 8 or Better WSOP 2001 event. During WSOP 2004, he beat David Williams in the $10k NL Texas Hold’em Main Event and won a breathtakingly large sum of $5,000,000. In 2005, Raymond finished in the 25th position in the WSOP Main Event, winning $304,680.

In 2005, he also participated in the Inaugural British Open Poker event, which was televised in London as the largest live poker event in the history of UK poker. Raymer reached the event’s final tables, emerged in the third position, and collected a nice prize of £20,000.

In 2007, Raymer got his first World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP bracelet) when he won its sixth event, a $320 PL Omaha event, winning a total of $168,362.

In WSOP 2009, Raymer emerged in the third position during the $40k NL Hold’em event, winning $774,927 in the process.

By 2011, Raymer had won more than $6,900,000 participating in live poker tournaments.

Important Poker Activities

Raymer was part of Team PokerStars Pro till the US federal government cracked down on the site this April. Raymer is also known for his active struggle against the pathetic condition of online poker in the US and his fight to get the US online poker industry regulated, licensed, and taxed. Owing to his efforts, he is now on the board of directors of America’s Poker Players’ Alliance (PPA), which never ceases in its efforts to convince the US federal government of the importance of recognizing poker as a game of skill and of regulating online poker.

Interesting Facts

Raymer, along with a few other professional poker players such as Chris Ferguson, Annie Duke, Phil Gordon, and others, have accused the WPT of attempting to use the reputation and public image of professional poker players to sell products without taking their consent or compensating them.

Greg Raymer likes a quiet life and spends a lot of time with his wife and daughter at their house in Raleigh. When he is not playing poker, he hunts for antiques, plays golf, listens to music, and watches comedies.