Darren Elias

Darren Elias is an American poker player who was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, but now resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Darren is a world-class poker player who currently holds the record for the most World Poker Tour titles with four. Elias has yet to win a WSOP Bracelet or Circuit ring, but he has amassed a whopping $12,411,788 in total live earnings and is a well-known name in the high roller community. His greatest live cash is now $843,744, which he earned in September 2014 at the WPT Borgata Open Atlantic City. Elias is a BetMGM USA and partypoker US ambassador. 

Darren Elias: Early Life

Darren Elias was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but traveled around a lot because his father was a high school football coach. But they eventually settled down at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. Elias wasn’t quite big enough to play football in high school, so he focused on swimming and water polo instead. He eventually got a scholarship at California’s University of Redlands. Although he had always played family card games at the kitchen table, such as spades or hearts, the Moneymaker boom introduced hold’em into the mix. Elias was soon playing for low stakes with his high school friends and, later, at his college dorm.

Elias was a genuine professional poker player who was also pursuing his undergraduate degree. He eventually finished with a degree in creative writing in 2008, which only provided him more time to compete on the tournament circuit. That decision did not sit well with his parents, who first did not support his poker profession, but after seeing Darren’s tournament results, his father finally understands and supports him. 

Elias was inspired to play poker after witnessing Chris Smith, popularly known as Chris Moneymaker, win the Main Event at the 2003 World Series of Poker. Elias began playing small stakes No Limit online with his friends and realized that he was playing more than everyone else. He eventually found success while in college.

Darren Elias: Poker Career

In the year 2008, Darren Elias began his career as a poker player. He tried his luck at the 2008 Aussie Millions Poker Championship in Melbourne, finishing 23rd and winning a good $2,732 prize.

Elias’ first six-figure victory came in February 2009, when he won his first Full Tilt Online Poker Series event for $126,544. He continued to win online and finished second in the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza main event in 2010, earning $195,335. 

He won his first live tournament on January 24, 2011, at the 2011 Southern Poker Championship for $21,825. After a month, he demonstrated his abilities once more, finishing third at the 2011 L.A. Poker Classic, winning $35,610. He then improved his live tournament game by finishing second for $153,975 in a $25,000 buy-in high roller event at Commerce Casino. 

Darren Elias won the first of his four WPT titles at the Borgata Poker Open in 2014, and he is the all-time WPT leader in wins, final tables, and cashes. Elias won the fourth-largest World Poker Tour Main Event of all time on September 14, 2014, when he won the televised WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship Event, which was sponsored by partypoker.com and BorgataPoker.com. Elias won $843,744, which is his current highest live cash as of this writing. He defeated 1,226 other players, making this the fourth-largest WPT Main Event of all time.

Conclusion:

Elias is content with where he is in his life, as he has stated in previous interviews. When asked how long he plans to play poker for a living, Elias was hesitant to look too far ahead. He intends to play for the foreseeable future. His most recent tournament was the 2023 PGT Poker Masters on September 18, 2023, where he finished 8th and won a prize of $ 36,400.

Because of his incredible successes throughout the years, BetMGM announced in September 2021 that Elias is now a brand ambassador for the partypoker US Network. Elias is able to work with BetMGM and partypoker, two businesses that consistently collaborate with the World Poker Tour, in what appears to be a natural fit. It’s a sponsorship that makes sense because it allows Elias to promote his passion for online poker while still advancing his live poker career. He can also do it while staying near his home in New Jersey.