Pierre Neuville

72-year old Pierre is an anachronism in the poker world. It’s not just his age in what is now regarded as a younger person’s game, or the fact that he is officially the oldest WSOP Main Event November Niner and due to play for millions in just a few weeks.

Nor is it that he holds the world record for successfully satelliting into EPT Main Events – 23 at last count! In fact, Neuville’s professional poker career stands out for the fact he didn’t even start playing as a pro until he was 64 years old! He had a life, and a very interesting one at that, before the lure of the professional scene led him to his present successes.

Born in 1943, the Belgian learned the game of poker very early in his life, and indeed played it throughout the mid-60’s as he studied for his degree at Brussels University, but after graduating he invented a board game -called Eddie Merckx, after the legendary Belgian cyclist.

He proceeded to build-up his own toy company which he later sold to the US toy giants Hasbro, with Neuville remaining on the board until 1992. He then started a personal consulting business which included clients such as Gary player and Kevin Costner.

Only on his retirement did Neuville return full-time to the poker-tables of his youth, playing both online and live with great success. Although married with 3 children, the Belgian –nicknamed Columbo – only took a couple of years to make his mark on the live tournament circuit.

A 2nd place in the EPT Vilamoura Main Event in Portugal back in 2009 gave him a $ 383,962 payday and a further runner-up spot in 2012 (good for $ 282,843) at EPT Copenhagen cemented his place among the danger-men of the European ranks.

His online EPT satelliting is, as mentioned, the stuff of legend – Neuville himself explaining “Many players write to me: ‘It's an impossible dream for me.’ I always answer them as follows: ‘Indeed, it's true. It’s not easy to qualify or there would be a million people registered at the next EPT.”

His own exploits in this arena have brought him PokerStars team Pro status, and his enthusiasm shines through in his answer, “But it is possible for you. When a pop-up suddenly appears on your screen saying ‘Congratulations! You’ve won the tournament,’ I can assure you that there’s no better feeling!”

Outright wins in big events may have eluded the Belgian so far – again 2nd spots in UKIPT and WSOP events last year boosted the bank balance but left him bracelet-free -but the biggest story in poker-history could be just around the corner should 72-year-old Pierre Neuville somehow manage to drag in the chip-leader Joe McKeehen and take down the biggest prize of all – the WSOP Main Event!