Gregory Brooks is an entrepreneur and former professional poker player. He began his poker career as an online player on sites such as PokerStars[3] and then moved to no limit tournaments where he won the 2011 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic, defeating Vivek Rajkumar for a prize of $1,654,120.[2] Brooks is the co-founder of Skorb, a venture that he began with his brother in 2011.[4][5] He is also the founder of LeggoPoker, a community-based website for teaching poker strategy through videos and one-on-one training.[6] The company was purchased by Phil Ivey's IveyPoker in 2013.[7] Brooks also founded the website Textbook Assault which aggregates pricing of textbooks from multiple websites such as Amazon.com, Chegg.com, Barnes and Noble, and eCampus.com.[8]
Gregory Brooks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Alma mater | Wake Forest University[1] |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Professional Poker Player Entrepreneur |
| Awards | 1st Place, 2011 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic[2] |
| Poker Stats | |
|---|---|
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | None |
| Money finish(es) | 3 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | 7th, 2011 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | 1 |
| Final table(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 1 |
| European Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | 1 |
| Final table(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 2 |
Poker career
editBrooks began his poker career at Party Poker, playing cash games while he was still attending Wake Forest University.[9] As a freshman, he earned $25,000 over the summer of 2006 playing $1/$2 no limit hold'em and began to rise through the ranks of the online poker world.[9] By the fall of 2007, Brooks was playing the largest stakes offered on PokerStars, and in the summer of 2008 released a montage video featuring various hands at stakes up to $50/$100 no limit hold'em.[10] In the spring of 2011, Brooks began playing high-stakes poker in no-limit hold 'em tournaments. In addition to his earnings in no limit tournaments, Brooks is still active in online high-stakes poker tournaments.[1]
Brooks' biggest victory came at the World Poker Tour 2011 L.A. Poker Classic where he took 1st place and a purse of $1,654,120.[2]
Prize events
edit| Date | Country | Series/Tournament | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 20, 2011 | USA | World Series of Poker | 7th | $53,210 |
| June 11, 2011 | USA | World Series of Poker | 93rd | $5,071 |
| May 11, 2011 | Spain | European Poker Tour | 1st | €136,000 ($201,855) |
| February 25, 2011 | USA | World Poker Tour | 1st | $1,654,120 |
| June 14, 2010 | USA | World Series of Poker | 103rd | $5,211 |
| January 28, 2010 | USA | Borgata Winter Open | 6th | $6,208 |
| January 10, 2010 | Bahamas | PokerStars Caribbean Adventure | 2nd | $12,000 |
| September 30, 2009 | United Kingdom | European Poker Tour | 11th | €3,200 ($5,094) |
Business ventures
editBrooks co-founded LeggoPoker, an online community that offers one-on-one training and instructional videos for poker players.[11] The company was founded by Brooks and Chris Tickner[6] and offers training from professional poker players such as Brooks, Andrew Lichtenberger,[12] Aaron Jones, and Ben Sulsky (Sauce123).[9] The company was purchased by Phil Ivey in 2013 as an addition to his Ivey League[7] and currently operates as a division of IveyPoker.[6]
In 2011, Brooks co-founded Skorb, an online portal that provides ways for college students to spend less on the things they buy.[4] The website is only open to students and leverages discounts offered through partners such as percentage savings at sites like Apple, Microsoft, Best Buy, and Groupon.[11] The site also allows students to earn money by involving parents and other supporting individuals.[13]
Brooks also co-founded the online metasearch engine Textbook Assault.[14][15] The website compares textbook prices from multiple sources such as Amazon.com, Bookbyte, Biblio.com, and ECampus.com.[16] The result of each search displays the website a book can be found and the price that it is selling for on that site, but also allows users to check out directly from the Textbook Assault site.[17]
In 2022, Brooks purchased his first pair of Birkenstocks. They were the Milano in Brown Amalfi Leather from the Designer Shoe Warehouse.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Greg Brooks: Poker Player Profile". Card King. March 5, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- ^ a b c Feldman, Greg (March 4, 2011). "Greg Brooks Wins LAPC Main Event". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- ^ Richtel, Matt (September 20, 2011). "Poker Web Site Cheated Users, U.S. Suit Says". New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
- ^ a b Tolbert, Mark (March 25, 2013). "Poker Players Giving Back". All Voices. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
- ^ "Skorb Launches Free Site That Helps College Students Make Extra Money and Pay Less For The Things They Buy". Kean Exchange. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Company Overview of Leggo Poker LLC". Business Week. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- ^ a b Peters, Donnie (February 7, 2013). "IveyPoker Acquires LeggoPoker". Poker News. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- ^ Colley, Angela (April 25, 2013). "Why Gen Y Is Losing The Debt Battle". MainStreet.com (TheStreet.com). Archived from the original on September 10, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ a b c Louis, Richard. "Poker Player Turned Entrepreneur Helping College Students Save Money". All Notes. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
- ^ Gregory Brooks / LeggoPoker. Greg's Summer Montage. LeggoPoker. Archived from the original on November 2, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
- ^ a b Pearce, C.J. (December 20, 2012). "Skorb Helping To Take Burden Off College Students". Industry News Corp. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
- ^ "Poker". The Boston Globe. October 25, 2011. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ^ "Skorb – About Us". Skorb.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- ^ Brown, Ann (March 25, 2013). "Time For Company Huddle: How to Build The Best Corporate Team". The Network Journal. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ Lepore, Meredith (June 12, 2013). "10 of the Most Common Mistakes Made by Interns". Levo League. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ "Client, Textbook Assault". AdFicient. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ "About Us". Textbook Assault. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.