Benyamine, Schoenberg Join Full Tilt Poker

At this rate, every professional poker player will wear Full Tilt Poker gear.  On April 6, Full Tilt announced that two more players have been added to its ever-growing stable: David Benyamine and Erica Schoenberg. 

Benyamine, 34, started playing poker seriously in 1998.  The Frenchman has two World Poker Tour titles to his name: the 2003 Grand Prix de Paris and the 2005 World Poker Tour Battle of Champions II.  He is best known, however, for his amazing cash game prowess.  On more than one occasion, he has turned a few thousand dollars into several hundred thousand in a short period of time.  By 2005, he was sitting in the Big Game, and according to Benyamine, he has won millions from the heavy hitters sitting at that table.   

Even before joining the Full Tilt squad, Benyamine was one of the most followed players at the online poker room’s cash game tables.  Playing in the highest hold’em and pot-limit Omaha games, his hands and results are reported daily on internet message boards.  Pot-limit hold’em is easily his best game; his winnings at Full Tilt have reportedly already eclipsed seven figures this year.  Curiously, he has two screen names at Full Tilt: “looseslots” and “Ballsrider.” 

Erica Schoenberg, coincidentally or not, is David Benyamine’s girlfriend.  At 29 years-old, she is new to professional poker, having honed her gambling skills as a professional blackjack player.  That is not to say, however, that she is someone who can be picked on at that table.  She made a splash on the poker scene in 2006 with a 16^th place finish at the WPT Championship. 

“David Benyamine’s record in cash games and tournaments places him firmly among the game’s elite,” said fellow Full Tilt Poker representative Howard Lederer in a press release. “Erica Schoenberg has shown flashes of brilliance in her young career, and under David’s tutelage she is sure to become one of the elite female players in the world. I am thrilled to welcome them both to the team.” 

Originally published 12:33 AM Sunday, April 08, 2007