Mark Seif

Quick Q&A; with Mark Seif

Where were you born?

Cairo, Egypt

Where do you live now?

Las Vegas, Nevada

Tell us about the first time you played poker.

I was just six years old, believe it or not. Whenever my parents were short players for their home games, they'd ask me to play. Unfortunately for them, I was too good and I was eventually banned from playing by my own father.

What did you do before you decided on a career in poker?

I was a lawyer.

What prompted you to make the switch?

Well, after being banned from my folks' home games, I really took a break from playing poker. It wasn't until I attended UCLA that I once again became hooked.

I played several times a week, balancing my higher education with building high chip stacks at the tables. My dual focus paid off when I graduated with honors from UCLA with a degree in Economics.

So you juggled both education and poker for a long time?

Not really. Once I decided to pursue my law degree at Loyola Law School, I knew I had to concentrate exclusively on school and poker once again took a backseat. I eventually landed an internship at the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office where I got to work on high profile cases including the OJ Simpson case.

Sounds exciting. What made you give up law then?

Though I was doing well practicing law, my successes at the poker tables proved that I had already perfected my game and I knew that I could really do well as a professional poker player.

And your decision has paid off.

It has. I've won more than $2.5 million playing poker and I wear my two WSOP bracelets proudly.