David Benyamine’s Life: Net Worth, Biggest Profits, Losses and Private Life

David Benyamine went from professional tennis player to one of France’s top ten billiards players before becoming a regular in some of the biggest poker cash games in the world. But where did the nickname “Degenyamine” come from, what is his net worth, and how did he end up in a pot worth more than $1.2 million against Guy Laliberté? Find the answers to these questions and more below.

Who Is David Benyamine?

The 54-year-old David Benyamine is one of the best-known French poker players, although his career started in a very different direction. He was a professional tennis player before becoming one of the top ten billiards players in France. All this despite dreaming of becoming an archaeologist as a child. In the end, his life took him quite far from that quiet world.

Born in Paris on July 5, 1972, David Benyamine was drawn to sports, competition and performance from an early age. He played tennis at a high level, but around the age of 20, the pain became so severe that he had to give up the sport. He then turned to billiards and once again reached the top level, becoming one of the ten best players in France.

Alongside competitive sports, Benyamine was introduced to card games at a young age, including five-card draw poker. From the age of 18, he also began exploring the world of casinos, a world that fascinated him so much that it remains a major part of his life today.

Little is known about Benyamine’s private life, and that is no accident: he has deliberately kept it away from the media spotlight. He is known to have one daughter, and during the 2000s, he was in a relationship with American professional poker and blackjack player Erica Schoenberg. Their relationship was regularly covered by the poker media at the time, and the couple later became engaged. However, instead of getting married, they went their separate ways in 2009.

What Is David Benyamine’s Net Worth?

When it comes to David Benyamine’s net worth, the Hendon Mob database lists $9,372,415 in live tournament earnings over the course of his career. HighRollPoker also records $892,450 in net winnings from livestreamed cash games. Its database does not include money won or lost in cash games played off stream.

Benyamine’s biggest single live tournament cash to date came at the 2011 Aussie Millions A$250,000 Super High Roller NLHE event. He finished third for $1,087,924, earning nearly $1.1 million.

From Card Games to Professional Poker

As mentioned above, Benyamine was introduced to card games while he was still involved in competitive sports, but his poker career began much later. After Patrick Bruel won a WSOP bracelet in 1998, Benyamine became seriously interested in Texas Hold’em. He initially played lower-stakes pot-limit games and built a bankroll of around $80,000 in roughly a year.

In the late 1990s, he continued his career in the cash games at the Aviation Club de France in Paris, where he regularly played against professional opponents. According to Benyamine, competing against stronger players significantly accelerated his development.

His first documented live tournament results date back to 1999, although tournament poker would never be the only part of the game that made Benyamine famous.

WSOP, WPT and His Biggest Poker Results

David Benyamine achieved his first major international success in 2003 when he won the WPT Grand Prix de Paris. Five years later, in 2008, he won his WSOP bracelet, defeating Greg Jamison heads-up in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split event to collect $535,687.

In 2011, he finished third in the Aussie Millions A$250,000 Super High Roller, earning $1,087,924.

High-Stakes Cash Games and Poker TV

Despite his tournament success, Benyamine built much of his international reputation as a high-stakes cash game player.

From Paris to the Biggest Cash Games in Las Vegas

After Paris, he became a regular in some of the biggest cash games in Las Vegas. He played in the legendary high-stakes games at the Bellagio, where he faced many of the most famous professionals of the era.

During the online poker boom, Benyamine also played at the highest-stakes tables on the now-defunct Full Tilt Poker. He developed a particularly strong reputation as a Pot-Limit Omaha and mixed games player.

Four Seasons of High Stakes Poker

Benyamine also became a familiar face during the televised poker boom of the 2000s. He appeared on NBC’s Poker After Dark as well as High Stakes Poker.

He appeared in four consecutive seasons of High Stakes Poker: Seasons 3, 4, 5 and 6, between 2007 and 2010. He shared the table with players such as Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Sammy Farha and other high-stakes stars.

In one memorable hand, Benyamine made a straight flush against Sammy Farha’s set and won a pot worth more than $500,000.

David Benyamine also appeared on Live at the Bike, which broadcast cash games from the Bicycle Casino in California.

Why Was David Benyamine Called “Degenyamine”?

Benyamine earned the nickname “Degenyamine” in the poker community, combining his surname with the term “degenerate gambler.” The nickname reflected his reputation for risk-taking and aggressive bankroll management. Even during significant downswings, he was known to continue playing at high stakes rather than immediately moving down, sometimes putting his bankroll under serious pressure.

Throughout his career, Benyamine lost significant amounts of money on several occasions before rebuilding at lower stakes. He experienced this early in his Paris years: after growing his bankroll to more than $200,000, he suffered heavy losses in a big Pot-Limit Omaha game and was effectively forced to start building again.

According to David Benyamine, one of his greatest strengths was his ability to read opponents and different situations at the poker table.

There is an interesting contradiction here. Despite the huge bankroll swings that characterized his own career, Benyamine has also highlighted good money management as one of the keys to long-term success in poker.

The $1.2 Million Pot With Guy Laliberté

One of Benyamine’s most famous televised hands became memorable for an unusual reason. It was not simply because he won or lost a huge pot, but because his opponent eventually allowed him to take back part of his all-in bet.

The hand took place on High Stakes Poker against Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil and a well-known high-stakes poker player.

The pot grew to more than $1.2 million. Benyamine was all-in, but Laliberté eventually allowed him to take back part of his bet, meaning the hand did not end in the usual way.

The hand became one of the most talked-about moments in High Stakes Poker and offers a glimpse into the world Benyamine inhabited during the 2000s: he was a regular in cash games where more than a million dollars could end up in the middle of the table in a single hand.

Is David Benyamine Still Playing Poker?

David Benyamine remains an active poker player more than two decades after his biggest early successes. He continued to play regularly at the World Series of Poker in 2026, cashing in several events, including $25,000 and $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Rollers.

More than 25 years after his first documented tournament result, Benyamine is still competing at the tables of some of the world’s biggest poker events.