Joe Elpayaa

Born and raised in Illinois, Joe Elpayaa has been playing poker professionally for well over a decade. He came up in the game during the golden age of online poker, running up a big bankroll at the now disbanded Paradise Poker by playing multi-table tournaments. He has earned more than $3,000,000 in the online arena, with over 80% of this being won on PokerStars under the name ‘BigEgypt’.

Elpayaa’s online tournament successes have also transferred across to the live circuit. Less than a year after his first live cash, Joe caught his biggest score to date at the 2008 PCA $10,000 Caribbean Adventure event. He took home $300,000 after finishing in sixth place, narrowly missing out on the EPT title and $2,000,000 that was claimed by French veteran Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier.

Joe had another what-could-have-been moment in 2010 when he made a WSOP final table at the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Shootout event. Falling three places short of the gold, Elpayaa went out in fourth-place for $125,387. With more than 20 in-the-money finishes at WSOP events, it should only be a matter of time before Elpayaa gets his hands on that elusive bracelet.