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Michael Binger
Michael Binger is a part-time pro poker player who was born in Delray Beach, FL in 1976; he now lives in Atherton, California. He went to college at North Carolina State University, and he earned his PhD in physics from Stanford in 2006. Just two months after he graduated, he finished 3rd in the WSOP Main Event and won $4.1 million quite a feat when you think about the fact that the event was only his fourth-ever money win. One of those other victories was at a WSOP final table, where he placed fifth and won $101,000.
After those initial successes, Binger kept right on going. In 2007, he placed third in the WSOP $5,000 no-limit hold 'em tournament and won $295,000. He had eight money wins that summer, tying Humberto Brenes and Phil Hellmuth for second-most money wins. He had four more in 2008, including a $101,000 final table.
As of late, Michael Binger has been relatively quiet on the poker circuit. He had five cash finishes in the 2009 season, but the largest was only for $24,500. In total, he has over six million dollars in tournament earnings, and over four million of that has come from the WSOP. Binger has always said that he wants to continue on to a career in physics, but that he doesn't want to be stuck in a dead-end 9-5 job. He says poker is a good way for him to earn some side money; he may not be at all the live tournaments, but he's still looking for his first WSOP bracelet.