Phil Gordon Profile

Only the lack of enough sturdy spandex to cover his tallness prevents millionaire/sports fanatic/poker champion/philanthropist/technical savant/brilliant businessman/media mogul Phil Gordon from playing the role of super hero. He has all the other requisite requirements, so what else could it be? Because he is in full position of his mental facilities? Hmmm. That could be it, too.  Either way, the world of crime has gotten a pass, until the day he teams up with card-slinging, banana-slicing Chris Ferguson to become costumed vigilantes. WAIT a minute Phil has the resources and background, and Chris has the super power (have you SEEN him throw a playing card?) and the costume has anyone ever seen the two of them in the same room together? Slap a fake beard and wig on Gordon.

All kidding aside, Phil Gordon really is a remarkable person with a rich history, starting way back when he was just a little giant at the age of 15. As a National Merit Scholarship Finalist, it was at this age he entered college, graduating at age 20 from Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Computer Science. Many times a young person, after graduating college, will take a year or two off to travel the world and build up a library of experiences to take with them throughout their life journey, before settling down into a career. Not Phil Gordon. No, Phil decided to do it the other way around; spend a year or two in a career, and then take the rest of his life off to travel the world and generally be the envy of all the not-millionaire-playboys out there.

Phil spent 2 years at Lockheed Missiles and Space, and then became the first employee at Netsys Technologies, Inc. in Palo Alto, California as lead software engineer. Three years later Cisco Systems bought Netsys Tech for nearly $100 million dollars, of which Phil got a share. Bruce Wayne spent ten years traveling the world seeking masters in the disciplines of crime fighting in order to become powerful enough to avenge the memory of his parents; Phil Gordon took off to adventure the world just because he could. (Starting to see the similarities yet?)

A backpack and a bankroll were Gordon’s companions as he struck out for Africa, kicking off a journey that would take him to enough extreme experiences to thrill a hundred people. The mid-20’s adventurer climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, tracked gorillas, dove with great whites and then said, Hey, how about South America? Taking on the next continent, he built a raft to float the Amazon River Basin and waked in the footsteps of the Incas. All in all Gordon made his individual journey over six cotenants and fifty countries.

You might think at this point he was ready to stop goofing off and get serious with his poker career, but not yet. First he had to go on "The Greatest Road Trip in Sports History", where he and a buddy bought an RV and hit 140 sporting events all over the United States. The entire trip is chronicled one of Gordon’s many web sites, www.ultimatesportsadventure.com.

It is time for poker now? Sheesh! Well, truth be told, Phil had been playing poker for years and years. His beloved Aunt Lib taught him to play when he was seven years old, playing for pennies. He has described her as a brutal player, and they played for keeps. She died of cancer on day one of the WPT event he would go on to win, and right there Phil decided to commit time, money, and his name to cancer research. He has raised money via his sports adventure, selling books on poker, and starting Put a Bad Beat on Cancer, a cancer fund raising program where professional poker player pledge a percentage of their winnings to the cause; something that has been very successful.

Aunt Lib’s poker lessons stuck with Phil, who improved on his play during his journeys around the world and the States, and soon he became a force to be reckoned with in the tournament arena. His tournament winnings top one and a half million, and his expertise on the game well known and well respected.  He seems to be living in a dream word of adventure, and doing his part to help mankind.

Now, if only we could squeeze his six foot, nine inch frame into some powered body armor, and pick an appropriate crime-fighting name.