Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu was one of the first celebrities borne out of the WPT/WSOP poker era. Negreanu’s boyish good looks, charm and talent made him a natural to represent the new, more clean cut, more acceptable face of poker. While by 2004, long before he had his Poker Stars, Negreanu had WSOP bracelets, tournament wins and plenty of poker earned cash to his credit, he still didn’t have one of the things he coveted most: A World Poker Tour victory.

Negreanu’s WPT Chase

Negreanu was determined to nail down that WPT crown, playing in every event he could to give himself his best shot at a title. Finally, in September in Atlantic City, Daniel got his chance. He made it to the final table of the Borgata Poker Open as the chip leader.

No Easy Road

As good as his position seemed, it would be no easy road to victory. Far from being packed with amateurs, this final table was a murderers’ row, containing WSOP main event runner up David

Williams, main event final tablist Josh Arieh, talented pro Chris Tsiprailidis and feared top pro Phil Ivey. In the end, it came down to Negreanu and David Williams, and Negreanu’s well-timed pocket aces were enough to give him the victory.

Keeping the Momentum Going

Not one to let any momentum go to waste, Negreanu was back at the finaltable a few months later for the Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas. With the winning experience under his belt, Negreanu went all the way again, defeating the colorful Humberto Brenes for his second WPT title.

Negreanu rounded out the WPT season with a third place finish at the World Poker Open in Tunica, earning him WPT Player of the Year Honors, the respect of his poker peers and a much-deserved sense of poker satisfaction.